26 The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred (shekels) of gold, besides the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
If the Ishmaelite nose-rings were half a shekel in weight, then 1,700 shekels weight of gold implied that 3,400 persons wearing, gold rings had been slain. The "collars" were rather "ear-drops."
The weight of the golden ear-rings - was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold - Taking the shekel at half an ounce weight, the sum of the gold collected in ear-rings was seventy pounds ten ounces; and worth, as gold now rates, about 3,100 sterling. This computation of the weight of the golden ear-rings, taken from the slaughtered Ishmaelites, will bring to the reader's mind the slaughter of the Roman knights by the Carthaginians at the battle of Cannae, from whose spoils Hannibal sent three bushels of gold rings to the city of Carthage!
And the weight of the golden earrings he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold,.... Which, as Schcuchzer (e) computes, was eight hundred and ten ounces, five drachms, one scruple, and ten grains, of the weight of physicians; but as reckoned by Moatanus (f) amounted to eight hundred and fifty ounces, and were of the value of 6800 crowns of gold; and, according to Waserus (g), it amounted to 3400 Hungarian pieces of gold, and of their money at Zurich upwards of 15,413 pounds, and of our money 2,380 pounds:
besides ornaments; such as were upon the necks of the camels, Judges 8:21 for the same word is used here as there:
and collars; the Targum renders it a crown, and Ben Melech says in the Arabic language the word signifies clear crystal; but Kimchi and Ben Gersom take them to be golden vessels, in which they put "stacte", or some odoriferous liquor, and so were properly smelling bottles:
and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian; which it seems was the colour that kings wore, as they now do; so Strabo (h) says of the kings of Arabia, that they are clothed in purple:
and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks; which seem to be different from the other ornaments about them, since another word is here used; now all these seem to have been what fell to his share, as the general of the army, and not what were given him by the people.
(e) Physica Sacra, vol. 3. p. 468. (f) Tubal Cain, p. 15. (g) De Numis. Hebrews. l. 2. c. 10. (h) Geograph. l. 16. p. 539.
ornaments--crescent-like plates of gold suspended from the necks, or placed on the breasts of the camels.
collars--rather, "earrings," or drops of gold or pearl.
purple--a royal color. The ancient, as well as modern Arabs, adorned the necks, breasts, and legs, of their riding animals with sumptuous housing.
*More commentary available at chapter level.