Commentaria in Exodum
Thou wilt say: Josephus assigns to the talent six thousand shekels; for in book 3, chap. 7, he says the candlestick (which was made of a talent of gold) was of the weight of 100 minas; but the mina had 60 shekels, as is plain from Ezech. 45:12, and from Josephus, book 14 of the Antiquities, chap. 12. Now multiply a hundred minas by sixty shekels, you will find six thousand shekels for 100 minas, and consequently for a talent. Some, as Arias Montanus, Didacus Covarruvias, Tornielus, Robert Cenalis, book On Measures, and others, because of this argument think there was a double talent among the Hebrews, one less and common, already mentioned, of three thousand shekels, the other greater and sacred, of six thousand shekels, of which the candlestick was made. But from Scripture this diversity and variety of talent cannot be proved; nor is it likely that Moses takes the talent equivocally and variously. Add that Moses ordered the shekels here offered by the people to be weighed by the shekel of the sanctuary, Exod. 30:24; therefore he weighed the talent also by the talent of the sanctuary: but the talent of the sanctuary was great, and according to those who posit a double one, was greater than the profane and common; the greater, therefore, must be taken here, not the less. The same Villalpando demonstrates at greater length in the Apparatus of the City and Temple, part 2, book 2, To Josephus I answer that either an error has crept into his numbers here, as often elsewhere; or Josephus here takes the mina smaller, namely one containing not 60 but only 30 shekels: then 100 minas will make three thousand shekels. Since, then, the Hebrew talent contained three thousand shekels, and the shekel contained 4 drachms, that is weighed 4 Spanish reales in silver, and 4 French crowns in gold: it follows that a talent of gold contained and was worth 12 thousand French crowns; a talent of silver, however, contained and was worth three thousand florins.
Hence it follows first that the Hebrew talent was greater than the Euboic, which was worth 400 gold pieces, and the Attic, which was worth It follows secondly that the Hebrew talent weighed ninety-three pounds of gold, with twelve ounces: the pound I here take as the greater, of sixteen ounces. This is plain; for the shekel contained four drachms, or half an ounce (for eight drachms make an ounce): wherefore 32 shekels (which make 128 French crowns) make one pound of gold; therefore, by multiplication, a talent containing three thousand shekels contained 93 pounds of gold with 12 ounces. If, however, you take the lesser pound, or common one, of twelve ounces, then the talent contained 125 pounds. It follows thirdly that easily from one talent, that is from 93 greater pounds, there could be made the candlestick of the temple, Exod. 25:39. Again, that David could not have worn the crown of Melchom, of one talent, but only made from it, that is from part of it, a diadem for himself, as is expounded in 1 Par. 20:2: for it would not have become a holy king to wear the very crown of an idol.
It follows fourthly that Giezi with two talents of silver could easily have bought fields, vineyards, cattle and handmaids, as is said 4 Kings chap. 5, verses 23 and 26; for he bought (a talent of silver was three thousand shekels of silver, that is, three thousand florins): two talents of silver, therefore, were worth six thousand florins. It follows fifthly, since a mina contained 60 shekels, Ezech. 45:12, that a talent contained 50 minas; a mina therefore contained nearly two pounds, so that the targets of 300 minas which Solomon made, 3 Kings 10:17, were of nearly six hundred pounds, and therefore could scarcely be borne by one man, and were more for magnificence than use, whence he himself made other shields of 600 shekels. It follows sixthly, since David left to Solomon for the temple, as is had 1 Par. 22:14, a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver, that he left him two thousand four hundred millions in gold; a million I call ten hundred thousand gold pieces; for a hundred thousand talents of gold make twelve hundred millions of gold: precisely as much in gold do a thousand thousand talents of silver make; for the proportion of silver to gold is tenfold: for one shekel of gold is worth 10 (and at this time 12) shekels of silver. Which sum of gold would scarcely now be found in all Europe; wherefore David procured it not so much by his own industry as by the blessing of God, that kings may learn that if they serve God they will be glorious and rich with David and Solomon. The manner of collecting it from Ophir, from tributes, from wars and spoils, from gifts, is gathered by Villalpando and Pineda, tract On Solomon. From whencesoever he had it, it is certain from Scripture that he had so much gold and silver: whence Scripture says that in the time of Solomon there was such plenty of gold in Jerusalem as of stones, and silver was not esteemed. But of the talent and weights I shall say more at the end of the Pentateuch.
25. ARMED MEN.—This word is not in the Hebrew, but is understood: for only those fit for war, and who could bear arms, were counted, as I said chap. 30, verse 14.
27. A HUNDRED SOCKETS.—For there were forty to the south, and the like on the other sides, and four under the four pillars dividing the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, as was commanded chap. 26, verses 19 and 36. So Abulensis, Cajetan and others.
28. AND OF THE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE,—Understand shekels, as the Septuagint and Chaldee express, and is plain from what precedes.
HE MADE THE HEADS OF THE PILLARS, WHICH HE ALSO OVERLAID WITH SILVER,—as if to say: That which remained over the 100 talents of silver collected from the census, namely 1775 shekels, Moses spent on the heads of the pillars and on silvering the pillars; not as though these 1775 shekels sufficed for this, but that they were spent for this; the remainder that was lacking was supplied from other money spontaneously offered by the people, which is not here numbered, and which Scripture mentions in chap. 35, verse 24: for Moses wished here to recount only to what use the money collected from the census was spent.
Note: For “he made the heads,” the Hebrew is covered the heads, as if to say: The knob of the heads he made of silver; the Septuagint render, gilded their heads; but plainly an error seems to have crept into them, so that for “silvered” the like-sounding “gilded” crept in: for that the heads of the pillars were silvered, not gilded, the Hebrew, Chaldee and our own teach, and it is plain from verse 19.
Note secondly: For he overlaid, the Hebrew is chishshaq, that is, he encircled, ringed, that is, he overlaid round about and in a ring.
29. OF BRASS ALSO WERE OFFERED SEVENTY-TWO THOUSAND TALENTS, AND FOUR HUNDRED SICLES OVER (of another sort).—The Hebrew and Chaldee have thus, and the brass offered was seventy talents, and two thousand, and four hundred shekels. Which the Septuagint, as we now have them, take so as to refer the two thousand not to talents but to shekels: Cajetan, Lipomanus, Vatablus and other recent writers follow them. But thus more talents of silver would have been offered and spent than of brass. Besides, with so little brass the 60 brazen pillars could not be made, of which I spoke chap. 27, verse 10, nor the sockets, the altar, pots, pegs, etc., since the silver sockets of the boards alone contained a talent each, as we saw in verse 27. Wherefore all will agree best if you divide and punctuate thus: “There were offered of brass seventy talents, two thousand (supply talents; nor is it strange that the greater number is here put after the less; for this is customary with the Hebrews) and four hundred shekels”; so that there were two thousand talents of brass, and 70 talents, and 400 shekels besides. Now that most errors have crept into the numbers of the Septuagint nobody is ignorant, as here also three hundred crept in above other numbers.
Note: Two thousand talents with 70 talents and 400 shekels make 958,766 pounds; wherefore all these could not be carried in the six wagons given to the Gersonites and Merarites to carry the vessels of the tabernacle, Num. 7:3. For one wagon with two oxen cannot carry three thousand pounds; but at most two thousand five hundred, as the wagoners testify: wherefore to carry 2,387,606 pounds there was need of a hundred wagons. What, therefore, could not be placed on the six wagons was partly placed on others, partly carried by the Levites themselves; finally, a part of the brass which was not spent on the vessels of the tabernacle but was left over, being profane, was conveyed not by the Levites but by laymen of the other tribes with carts.