Ezra 8:26

Silver. Any attempt to express the value of the gold, silver, and bronze here listed, in terms of modern values, would fail to account for their true value at that time in purchasing power. A rough estimate of the total value, as determined by the weight of the three metals, would perhaps be more than 3 million dollars. Even critical scholars recognize that this detailed list of treasures and the list of family heads returning with Ezra bear the stamp of genuineness. If the book of Ezra were merely fiction, the author would hardly have devoted so much space to tedious lists of the returning exiles or have itemized the treasures.

Although a considerable portion of this treasure may have come from the royal purse, much of it was donated by the wealthy Jews of Persia and Babylonia, and some by their Gentile friends (see chapter 7:15, 16). While the amount of treasure carried back to Judea seems large, it should not be forgotten that the wealth of Persia at this time was immense (see Daniel 11:2). According to Herodotus (iii. 94, 95) India paid an annual tribute of 360 talents of gold dust (13.5 tons; 12.3 metric tons), Babylonia 1,000 talents of silver (37.7 tons; 34.3 metric tons), and large amounts were paid by other satrapies of the empire. The total revenues of the empire are given by Herodotus as 14,560 Euboeic talents. In comparison with this vast sum, the treasure carried to Judea by Ezra does not appear excessive, as some commentators have suggested.