2 Samuel 12:30

“And he took their king’s crown from off his head, etc.] The crown of Hanun the king of the Ammonites, who now fell into his hands, and whom he stripped of his ensigns of royalty, who had so shamefully abused his ambassadors, (<101004>2 Samuel 10:4): (the weight whereof [was] a talent of gold with the precious stones): or, “and a precious stone”; there might be more, as our version suggests, but there was one in it remarkably large and valuable; Josephus f195 says it had in it a very precious stone, a sardonyx; and this, according to the Talmud f196 was of the value of a talent of gold. A talent was equal to three thousand shekels, as appears from (<023825>Exodus 38:25,26); and was in value,…”

“he took their king's crown from off his head--While the treasures of the city were given as plunder to his soldiers, David reserved to himself the crown, which was of rarest value. Its great weight makes it probable that it was like many ancient crowns, not worn, but suspended over the head, or fixed on a canopy on the top of the throne. the precious stones--Hebrew, "stone"; was a round ball composed of pearls and other jewels, which was in the crown, and probably taken out of it to be inserted in David's own crown.”

“Their king’s crown - The word rendered their king (Malcham) is also the name of the national idol of the Ammonites (Jeremiah 49:1, Jeremiah 49:3 margin; Amos 1:15; Zephaniah 1:5). Moreover, the weight of the crown, which is calculated to be equal to 100 or 125 pounds weight, is far too great for a man to wear. On the whole, it seems most probable that the idol Malcam is here meant. return to 'Top of Page'”

“The weight - Or rather, the price whereof, &c. For the same words both in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, are used, to signify either weight, or price. And the addition of precious stones, which are never valued by the weight of gold, makes this signification most probable. Moreover, the weight might seem too great either for the king of Ammon, or for David to wear it upon his head. 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 12:31”

“12:30 David removed the crown: David had, in effect, become the Ammonites’ king. • a vast amount of plunder: Instructions against taking such booty during a conquest (Deut 7:25-26) show how dangerous David’s actions were. Such wealth might seduce the king’s heart away from God.”

“took: Ch1 20:2 the weight: If this talent was only seven pounds, as Whiston says, David might have carried it on his head with little difficulty; but this weight, according to common computation, would amount to nearly 114 pounds! Some, therefore, think, that mishkelah should be taken for its value, not weight; which renders it perfectly plain, as the worth of the crown will be about 5,074, 15s, 7d sterling. The ancients mention several such large crowns, made more for sight than use. Atheneus describes a crown of gold that was 24 feet in circumference; and mentions others that were two, some four, and others five feet deep. Pliny takes notice of some that were no less than eight pounds…”

“He then took their king's crown ("their king," viz., the king of the Ammonites) from off his (the king's) head; so that he had either been taken prisoner or slain at the capture of the city. The weight of the crown was "a talent of gold, and precious stones" (sc., were upon it): as the writer of the Chronicles has correctly explained it by supplying בּהּ. The Hebrew talent (equal to 3000 shekels) was 83 1/2 Dresden pounds. But the strongest man could hardly have borne a crown of this weight upon his head for however short a time; and David could scarcely have placed it upon his own head. We must therefore assume that the account of the weight is not founded upon actual weighing, but simply…”