וְ֠כֹל כְּלֵ֞י מַשְׁקֵ֨ה הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה֙ זָהָ֔ב וְכֹ֗ל כְּלֵ֛י בֵּֽית־יַ֥עַר הַלְּבָנ֖וֹן זָהָ֣ב סָג֑וּר אֵ֣ין כֶּ֗סֶף לֹ֥א נֶחְשָׁ֛ב בִּימֵ֥י שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה לִמְאֽוּמָה׃
Semua perkakas minum Raja Salomo terbuat dari emas, dan semua perkakas di gedung Hutan Libanon terbuat dari emas murni. Tidak ada satu pun yang terbuat dari perak, karena pada zaman Salomo perak sama sekali tidak dianggap berharga.
Guide for the Perplexed
You must know that in Hebrew the collective noun denoting animals used for riding is “mercabah.” Instances of this noun are not rare. “And Joseph made ready his chariot” (merkabto) (Gen. 46:29); “in the second chariot” (be-mirkebet) (ib. 41:43); “Pharaoh’s chariots” (markebot) (Exod. 15:4). The following passage especially proves that the Hebrew merkabah denotes a collection of animals: “And a merkabah came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for an hundred and fifty” (1 Kings 10:21). Hence we may learn that mercabah denotes here four horses. Therefore I think that when it was stated, according to the literal sense of the words, that four Ḥayyot (beasts) carry the Throne of Glory, our Sages called this “mercabah” on account of its similarity with the mercabah consisting of four single animals.