Beaten Gold

Beaten gold refers to gold worked by hammering rather than casting—a technique producing both decorative sheet metal and rounded or embossed forms. The golden lampstand (menorah) in the tabernacle was made of beaten work (Numbers 8:4), meaning its branches and cups were hammered out from a single piece of pure gold rather than assembled from cast components. Solomon's two hundred large and three hundred small shields of beaten gold were displayed in the House of the Forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 10:16–17), representing both artisanal skill and royal wealth.