מלכים א, פרק י׳, פסוק י״ז

As King Solomon expanded the glory of his kingdom, he commissioned the creation of hundreds of golden shields. These pieces were carefully crafted with exact attention to their weight and the quality of the material, serving as a testament to the era's immense wealth.

The shields themselves were relatively small, designed as handheld defensive weapons for use in battle [ביאור שטיינזלץ], [מצודת ציון]. They were forged from a highly refined, premium grade of gold. The nature of this fine material allowed it to be worked easily; it was soft enough to be hammered flat [רש״י], or flexible enough to be stretched and shaped like wax [רד״ק].

The exact weight of each shield was set at three manehs. A maneh is a standard unit of weight equivalent to one hundred shekels or one hundred gold coins. This measurement perfectly aligns with other historical records that describe each shield as containing three hundred pieces of gold, as three units of one hundred coins naturally total three hundred.

Once completed, Solomon placed these golden shields in his royal residence, known as the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Within the palace, they served multiple purposes. They functioned as an active armory and a secure storage of immense national treasure, while also acting as striking decorative pieces that adorned the royal halls [ביאור שטיינזלץ].