UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: denarius

Semantic entry: 6.75

Semantic domains: Artifacts

Subdomains: Money and Monetary Units

Definition: a Roman silver coin equivalent to a days wage of a common laborer

Notes: The practice of translating terms for coins with specific monetary values has differed widely in different languages at different times and in different contexts. One of the most serious problems has been the recent rapid inflation which has taken place in many parts of the world and which has thus made traditional renderings relatively meaningless or even absurd. For a number of years the silver content in an ancient denarius was equivalent to twenty cents U.S., but the value of silver has changed appreciably within recent times, and therefore any calculation based upon the value of silver content in ancient coins is misleading. Furthermore, in ancient times silver coins had proportionately far more buying power than the equivalent amount of silver would have today. Therefore, a number of translators have attempted in some measure to relate coinage to buying power, or perhaps better, to earning power. For example, in RV MRK 6:37 · LV MRK 6:37 · Read together MRK 6:37 the reference to ‘two hundred denarii’ is sometimes translated as ‘the equivalent of 200 days’ wages’ or even ‘eight months of a laborer’s wages.’|In RV MAT 18:28 · LV MAT 18:28 · Read together MAT 18:28 the reference to ‘a hundred denarii’ is designed primarily to indicate the contrast between the enormous sum owed by one servant in contrast with the very small amount owed by the fellow servant. In this instance the contrast may be expressed in terms of ‘thousands of denarii’ in contrast with a ‘few denarii.’ In such a case the equivalent coinage may be turned into a local currency, for example, ‘thousands of dollars’ in contrast with a ‘few dollars.’ In a number of cases translators have attempted to avoid any specific reference to a particular coin and have simply spoken of ‘silver coins’ or ‘gold coins’ without indicating particular values. Under such circumstances a marginal note is sometimes employed in order to indicate the relative value of the currency.

Further resources: realia:11.6.2.5