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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

MONEY

Medium of exchange, measurement of value, means of payment.

Money was developed as a convenient medium of exchange to supplement and later to replace bartering, although the two systems operated concurrently for many centuries. From the patriarchal period to the present day, wealth has been measured in terms of goods and precious metals, particularly gold and silver, which remain universally acceptable mediums of exchange. Genesis 13:2 describes Abraham as “very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.”

Wealth in a nomadic or seminomadic society was frequently measured by the number of cattle a person possessed, and because of this, cattle were a readily acceptable and easily valued, if rather large, medium of exchange. The degree to which cattle were commonly recognized as the standard for value, wealth, and exchange is reflected in the Latin form for money, pecunia, which is derived directly from pecus, meaning “cattle.” For religious purposes, taxes or donations paid in cattle were most acceptable, and this not only increased the general recognition for this medium but also made the temple a repository for large herds of cattle, as well as smaller animals and produce, which, if they could not be used directly in the temple rituals, could be bartered for whatever commodities were required. Perishable foods were less popular for purposes of exchange than animals such as sheep and asses, although timber, wine, and honey were regularly used as a form of currency (1 Sm 8:15; 2 Kgs 3:4; Ez 45:13-16). Both public and private taxes, tribute, and debts of all kinds were settled by this means. Solomon paid Hiram, king of Tyre, in wheat and olive oil for his assistance in the construction of the temple (1 Kgs 5:11), and in the eighth century BC taxes were commonly paid in jars of wine or olive oil. Tribute in the form of sheep and wool is recorded in 2 Kings 3:4.

All the means of exchange mentioned represented goods that could be measured or counted, and attempts were made to establish a standard rate of exchange for them in relation to each other.

Silver was the precious metal most readily available in the ancient Near East and was therefore the one most frequently mentioned in connection with purchases by weight, and at a later period by coin. The first recorded instance in the Bible of silver being used as a medium of exchange occurs in Genesis 20:14-16, where Abraham received a payment of 1,000 shekels by weight of silver, as well as animals and slaves. Abraham also purchased the field and cave of Machpelah for 400 shekels of silver (Gn 23:15-16), which according to the custom of the day had to be weighed out in front of the vendor and checked by witnesses (cf. Jer 32:9-10).

As these events occurred about the beginning of the second millennium BC, the term “shekel” would not represent the coin familiar from later periods but rather a certain weight of silver. At a later time the brothers of Joseph sold him to traveling merchants for 20 shekels of silver (Gn 37:28). Genesis 33:19 mentions another unit of weight for metal, the kesitah (NLT mg), in connection with the purchase of a field by Jacob; the term occurs again in Joshua 24:32 and Job 42:11. This unit may have represented an amount equivalent to the currency value for a lamb.

In time large animals and material objects came to be considered extremely cumbersome as a means of exchange, and metal became increasingly popular. Transportation of large quantities of precious metal remained a problem, however, and a method had to be devised for easy recognition, accessibility, and storage of particular metals of value.

Over the years, fairly uniform shapes were designed for metals used in transactions. Silver could be piled or tied in bundles, as shown in Egyptian bas-reliefs, and the sons of Jacob took advantage of a similar method in transporting the purchase price of the grain they were buying from Egypt (Gn 42:35). About 1500 BC, pieces of metal shaped in the form of ingots, bars, tongues, or heads of animals were in use, as well as gold discs and rings of gold wire. Perhaps the most popular pieces acceptable as currency were those that had also been designed as jewelry. The valuables listed among the spoil of the Midianites included gold chains, bracelets, signet rings, and earrings (Nm 31:50). The bracelets and rings in particular probably represented a standardized weight, and could therefore be used easily as currency. Rebekah received gifts from her fiancé that were in the form of jewelry of specific weight: a gold ring weighing half a shekel and two bracelets weighing ten gold shekels (Gn 24:22). Job was given a fine ring of gold by a number of relatives, and it is unlikely that they would all have given him the same gift if it did not in fact represent a certain monetary value (Jb 42:11).

The requirement in Deuteronomy 14:25 to “bind up your money” would again imply either thin strips of silver that could be bundled together or rings that could be strung. In either event, transportation would be facilitated.

The value for weights of silver mentioned in Mosaic times can best be understood in terms of purchasing power. A ram could be bought for two shekels, while fifty shekels was the price of about four bushels of barley (Lv 27:16). In the time of Elisha, during a good year, one and one-half pecks of fine flour or three pecks of barley could be bought for one shekel (2 Kgs 7:16). Needless to say, monetary valuations of this kind would be affected by such economic considerations as supply and demand.

Estimation by eye was an inaccurate means of judging the value of currency, and there is no doubt that cheating was prevalent in the weighing and examination of metal. The weighing, an essential part of every major transaction, was also very time-consuming. In order to ensure the correct value of the weights, which were usually pieces of bronze, iron, or dressed stones, they carried some sort of stamp. Once this practice was generally established, it was a short step to the stamping of the individual pieces of metal, whether tongues, bars, or bracelets, being used as currency. The next logical development was stamping a piece of silver to authenticate its value for purposes of currency. This was the precursor of the coin, which was not known in the ancient Near East prior to the exilic period. Therefore, any reference to money before that time indicates bars, bracelets, rings, or other metal objects, stamped or unstamped.

The earliest minted coins came from the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor, being credited traditionally to Croesus (560–546 BC), the fabulously wealthy ruler of that land. The coins from Lydia were made of electrum, a natural alloy of silver and gold, and they depicted a lion and a bull. Like most of the early coins, the reverse simply contained a punch mark.

Originally a coin not only represented a value, but also its weight was worth the amount of silver or gold of its face value. Thus many of the early coins were slashed heavily by some ancient skeptics, who wished to be sure that the coin was of pure silver and not a less valuable metal coated with silver.

The purity of silver or gold was also a factor in the popularity and acceptance of particular coins. Thus in Greek and Roman times the tetradrachma from Tyre was one of the most widely accepted silver coins because of the purity of its metal content.

The use of coins did not eliminate the necessity for weighing, because the fraudulent clipping of the edges of coins was prevalent from their introduction in the sixth century BC. This particular problem plagued all subsequent issues of coinage, and it was only in the late 18th century in Britain that it was surmounted by a process involving the milling, or reeding, of the edges of the more valuable coins.

In the sixth century BC, when the Jews returned from exile in Babylonia, coins were donated for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, as well as silver and gold in other forms. The gold coin mentioned is a “daric.” The term, apparently derived from the name of the great Persian king Darius I (521–486 BC), was in wide current use and even appears in biblical passages written at a later date but referring to a period before the reign of Darius (cf. 1 Chr 29:7).

Few craftsmen with the skills required for the manufacture of coins would have been available before the sixth century BC, so the earliest gold darics were probably minted at Sardis. The mint itself was taken over by the Persians when they occupied the territory, with production continuing as before.

Western sections of the Persian Empire probably used silver coins more frequently than gold. According to some traditions, coinage developed in Greece at Aegina about the time that the Lydians first adopted the concept. The earliest of these silver coins to be excavated so far dates from the sixth century BC and was minted in northern Greece.

Also in current use were the popular fifth-century BC tetradrachmas from Athens, which had dies on both sides of the coin. These depicted the head of the goddess Athena and the sacred owl.

Although the silver content of many coins in contemporary use was lowered, that of the Athenian tetradrachma remained consistently at its original high standard of purity. This circumstance naturally increased its acceptability, especially in areas caught up in political turmoil where the purity of the local currency was particularly questionable. Because of the stability of the silver content of the coin and the rapidity with which the Greek Empire was expanding, the Athenian tetradrachma was minted and used almost unchanged over a period of 200 years. Many of these coins have been found in hoards all over the eastern Mediterranean.

There is no doubt that by the fourth century BC there was a local mint in Judea, for silver coins imitating the Athenian tetradrachma, but also bearing the legend “Jehud,” have been excavated there.

Because of the extent of trade in Greek and Roman times, the coins from the larger centers had a general acceptance in all the Mediterranean coastal areas. They were also favored in the inland areas, especially in those traversed by trading routes or those that were part of a larger empire.

Mints in Gaza, Joppa, and Tyre were established about the end of the fourth century BC to produce local currency. At this period Sidon continued to be an important supplier of silver coins, as it had been since the fifth century BC.

As the Seleucids gained control of Judea in 198 BC, a period of political turmoil commenced when the Syrians tried to Hellenize the Jewish people. Resentment toward Greek culture and resistance to all tampering with the traditional Jewish faith increased steadily until it found an outlet in the leadership of Mattathias, father of the Maccabees, who began a guerrilla uprising in 167 BC.

When the fortunes of war shifted temporarily to the Maccabeans, King Antiochus of Syria granted Simon Maccabeus the right to mint his own coins (1 Macc 15:6), but before he could take advantage of this prime symbol of independence, the balance of power changed once more. Judea returned to its status as a tributary, and the permission to mint coinage was hastily withdrawn.

Simon’s son, John Hyrcanus, succeeded in overcoming the weakened Syrians and declared independence in 129 BC. The small bronze coins minted about 110 BC showed a wreath on the obverse bearing the inscription “Johanan the high priest and the community of the Jews.” The reverse displayed a double cornucopia with a poppy head, both of which were Greek symbols of plenty. These were the first genuinely Jewish coins.

With the lack of skilled craftsmen and of a good mint it is hardly surprising that the resulting coins were simple and unpretentious. In consequence they were quite unlike the elaborate, and often delicate, designs of many contemporary coins.

Meanwhile, silver coins continued to be struck in the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon on the orders of the Seleucids, and they remained the most popular silver coins in everyday use in Palestine until Roman times. Even then they continued to circulate side by side with the Roman coinage.