Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 10:14

"Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold," — 1 Kings 10:14 (ASV)

Talents. The word primarily signifies a “circle” or “globe,” and the talent (among the Hebrews and other Eastern peoples, as among the Greeks) primarily denoted a certain weight.

1. The ordinary talent of gold contained 100 “manehs,” or “portions” (the Greek mna, or mina). Each maneh (as is seen by comparing 1 Kings 10:17 with 2 Chronicles 9:16) contained 100 shekels of gold. According to Josephus (Antiquities 14.7.1), each maneh contained 2.5 Roman pounds, and the talent, therefore, 250 Roman pounds, or 1,262,500 grains. This calculation agrees fairly with his computation elsewhere (Antiquities 3.8.10), that the gold shekel was equivalent to the daric, which is about 129 grains. (See the Dictionary of the Bible: “WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.”) According to this calculation, 666 talents would yield a weight of gold now worth £7,780,000.
2. On the other hand, the talent of silver is expressly given (by comparison of Exodus 30:13-15 and Exodus 38:25-28) as 3,000 “shekels of the sanctuary.” Such a shekel appears, from the extant Maccabean coins, to be about 220 grains. Of such talents, 666 would yield a little more than half the former weight. Hence, if the talent of gold here is supposed to be the same in weight as the talent of silver, the whole would yield a weight of gold now worth about £4,000,000.

Considering that this is expressly stated to be independent of certain customs and tributes, the smaller sum seems more probable. In any case, the amount is surprisingly large.

However, it should be remembered that at certain times and places, accumulations of gold have occurred that were so great as to practically reduce its value and lead to its use, not as currency, but as a precious ornament. Making all allowance for exaggeration, this must have been the case among the Mexicans and Peruvians before the Spanish conquests. It is probable that the same may have occurred in the time of Solomon.