Difference between revisions of "Money"

<p> A variety of monetary systems are represented in the Bible, corresponding to the political powers that dominated the cultures represented there, from the darics named after the Persian monarch Darius (these are the first actual coins mentioned in the Bible see &nbsp;1 Chronicles 29:7; &nbsp;Ezra 8:27; &nbsp;Nehemiah 7:70-72 ) to the coins of the Roman Empire that bore Caesar's image (&nbsp;Matthew 22:20-21 ). Unlike the coinage of the United States, which by law cannot bear the image of a living person, the coins of the ancient world were more explicitly political, bearing the representation of the living monarch who sponsored the mint that produced the coins. As Jesus affirms in &nbsp;Matthew 22 , coins really belong to the person whose likeness appears on them, in contrast to God, who imprints his likeness (and hence his mark of ownership) on a living humanity (&nbsp;Genesis 1:27 ). </p> <p> Although the word "money" appears frequently throughout some translations of the Old Testament, the first coins were not produced in the ancient Near East until the seventh century b.c. Consequently, when one finds the word "money" in Bible versions used to translate the Hebrew term <i> kesep </i> [כֶּסֶף] (lit. "silver"), one must recognize that it is usually not coins that are to be understood but refined, unminted silver. When one exchanged this silver for a commodity, the silver was weighed ( <i> saqal </i> [שָׁקַל]) in balances to determine the proper quantity of silver appropriate to the bargain. It was the term for the calibration of this weighing that gave the name of <i> shekel </i> [שֶׁקֶל] to the first Judean coins whose size corresponded to a shekel weight (a little less than half an ounce). </p> <p> The genius of money is that it simplifies and facilitates the exchange of goods and services between humans. Greek [[Christians]] would not have been able to assist Christians in [[Judea]] had it not been for the existence of money, which functioned as a substitute for their labor and was easily transported (&nbsp;Romans 15:26-27 ). The Old [[Testament]] acknowledged that there could be times when it was difficult for God's people to bring the actual firstfruits of their harvests and flocks over the great distances separating them from the temple in Jerusalem. In such cases, the people were to sell the products in question for silver and bring the silver to Jerusalem, where one could purchase the appropriate products necessary for the cultic celebration (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 14:24-26; cf. &nbsp;Ezra 7:17 ). </p> <p> This perception of a convenient exchange reappears when substitutions are required for other aspects of the cult. Since all firstborn [[Israelites]] originally belonged to God as a result of his saving their lives in the exodus (&nbsp;Exodus 13:11-16 ), firstborn Israelites had to find human substitutes if they wished to be released from God's full-time service (&nbsp;Numbers 3:40-45 ). The [[Levites]] fulfilled this function as substitutes, but since there were not enough Levites to take the place of all firstborn Israelites when this was first enacted, God also accepted a monetary substitution of five shekels for those firstborn who could find no [[Levite]] to substitute for them (&nbsp;Numbers 3:46-51 ). Ever after, any firstborn human (or unclean animal) that reached the age of one month had to be redeemed at the price of five shekels (&nbsp;Numbers 18:15-16 ). </p> <p> This monetary evaluation of humans is not a simple matter, and a variety of standards appear in the Bible. In addition to the cultic redemption of five shekels for the firstborn, there was also a monetary redemption of a half-shekel "atonement" or "ransom" applied to all male Israelites over twenty years of age (&nbsp;Exodus 30:11-16; &nbsp;38:25-26 ). Such evaluations were independent of other factors, for "the rich are not to give more and the poor are not to give less" (&nbsp;Exodus 30:15 ). </p> <p> There was also a monetary substitution that could be applied to those who vowed themselves into God's service contingent on God's fulfillment of a request they asked of him. Instead of personally fulfilling the vow, the individual could pay a monetary substitute, determined in accord with the person's sex, age, and economic class (&nbsp;Leviticus 27:1-8 ). Another monetary substitution was found in the legal sphere, where the general principle of lex talionis mandated that when one human takes another human's life, the offender must compensate by surrendering a human life in turn, usually his or her own. However, collections of laws in the ancient Near East allowed payment of money as a fine in cases of murder where the victim was from a lower social class. Sectors of the Old Testament echo the notion that money might serve to ransom one's life when one was legally liable to be put to death as a punishment (&nbsp;Exodus 21:29-30; &nbsp;2 Samuel 21:4; &nbsp;1 Kings 20:39 ), but &nbsp;Numbers 35:31 clarifies Israel's distinctiveness: "Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer." God did not permit monetary fines in such cases, but insisted on the death penalty for all murders. The single clear exception where monetary compensation covered a lost human life was in the case of the slave killed by a negligent owner's goring ox: thirty shekels (the general price of a slave) was to be paid to the dead slave's owner so that he could replace his lost property (&nbsp; Exodus 21:32 ). </p> <p> The ease with which money could substitute for goods and services allowed it to be a ready means of replacing items lost or damaged in civil conflicts. Money appears not as a punitive measure in biblical legislation but as a compensation for commodities such as dead cattle (&nbsp;Exodus 21:33-36 ) and lost virginity (the price determined by the general dowry expected for a virgin &nbsp;Exodus 22:16-17; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 22:28-29 ). Money could function as a punishment when damages were less tangible (e.g., one hundred shekels for slander in &nbsp;Deuteronomy 22:19; a variable amount for a miscarriage in &nbsp;Exodus 21:22 ), but these are infrequent in biblical law. Should money become a substitute for other punishments such as lex talionis or beatings, the law would become less fair in allowing the wealthy to be less affected by their misdeeds than the poor. </p> <p> Although money had beneficial results in simplifying the exchange of goods and services, these advantages could be turned to evil purposes. In the same way that money facilitated the rewarding of work done well, it became equally easy to motivate individuals to do reprehensible crimes with bribes (&nbsp;Judges 16:5,18; &nbsp;Esther 3:9; &nbsp;4:7; &nbsp;Matthew 28:12; &nbsp;Mark 14:11 ). </p> <p> Money also could be used to affirm one's status as a subordinate who owed allegiance to another: it was humiliating for the kings of [[Israel]] and [[Judah]] to pay tribute to foreign monarchs (&nbsp;2 Kings 15:19-20; &nbsp;18:14; &nbsp;23:33,35 ), but it was a sign of Israel's high standing when other nations paid annual tribute to her (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 27:5 ). Of course, rulers could pay such money only if they had taxed their own people (&nbsp;2 Kings 15:20 ), and hence taxes were (and still are) a sign of the individual's submission to the government. </p> <p> Expressing allegiance to a human authority in this fashion raises a dilemma for the one whose first allegiance is to God, a dilemma that Jesus resolves by insisting that one should return to any sovereign whatever has the sovereign's mark of ownership on it: "Whose portrait is this? Give to [[Caesar]] what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (&nbsp;Matthew 22:20-21 ). Jesus provides a different perspective when asked to pay the temple tax, affirming that although he and his disciples are the sons of the divine King and need not pay the tax for God's temple, it should nevertheless still be paid so as not to offend fellow Jews (&nbsp;Matthew 17:24-27 ). There is a larger irony in this latter account, where the requisite amount for the tax is found in a fish's mouth. Unlike the righteous' gift to God, which must be personally costly (&nbsp;2 Samuel 24:24 ), it does not matter from what source one finds the tax or tribute to surrender to a human sovereign. </p> <p> Money is one of the least trustworthy and most deceptive elements of human existence. It is an unpredictable and wildly vacillating guide to value. Large quantities of silver and gold, such as when one finds "silver as common as stones" (&nbsp;1 Kings 10:27; cf. v. 14), generate inflation, which devalues the currency and its buying power. A shortage of certain commodities may drive up prices exorbitantly (&nbsp;2 Kings 6:25; &nbsp;Lamentations 5:4; &nbsp;Revelation 6:6 ), while the sudden availability of products may cause the value of money to plunge (&nbsp;2 Kings 7:1,16,18 ). In response, one finds in the ancient Near East and the Bible attempts to stabilize currency and exchange rates (&nbsp;Ezekiel 45:12 ). But even the currency itself is subject to loss (&nbsp;Luke 15:8 ), theft (&nbsp;Matthew 6:19 ), destruction (&nbsp;James 5:3; &nbsp;1 Peter 1:18 ), and misuse (&nbsp;Luke 15:13-14 ). Hordes of coins found in archaeological excavations echo the frequency with which money is described as buried in the Bible, for money is so vulnerable that there is little else one can do to protect it. It is ironic that money loses its ability to protect its owner (&nbsp;Luke 12:20-21 ), who on the contrary is soon consumed with protecting the money instead (&nbsp;Ecclesiastes 5:13 ). This is one reason why Jesus insists that his followers not accumulate money (&nbsp;Matthew 10:9 ) and why members of the earliest Jerusalem church did not claim that anything belonging to them was their own (&nbsp;Acts 4:32 ). </p> <p> It is a repeated theme in the Bible that the monetary value of items does not reflect the value that God places on them. Jesus notes that although one can purchase a pair of sparrows in the market for a single copper coin comparable to a penny, this market value does not reflect the great attention that a single one of these birds receives from God (&nbsp;Matthew 10:29 ). So persistent is this theme of skewed values that it becomes predictable for items of low market value to figure high on God's list of valuables, and vice versa. [[Joseph]] was sold for less than the price of a slave (twenty shekels, &nbsp;Genesis 37:28 ), but he became the savior of Egypt who ironically purchased its entire population into slavery (&nbsp;Genesis 47:13-25 ). Jesus' betrayal price of thirty silver pieces is a tragic miscalculation of his true status (&nbsp;Zechariah 11:13; &nbsp;Mark 14:11; &nbsp;Luke 22:5 ). Others may look with disdain upon a donation of a few copper coins to the temple treasury, but it is not the market value of the widow's gift that Jesus finds important: "She put in everything—all she had to live on" (&nbsp;Mark 12:41-44 ). It is this confusion of market value with spiritual value that irritates Peter when Simon Magus offers to pay money in return for the power of the Holy Spirit (&nbsp;Acts 8:18-24 ). One should not even consider any amount of money in exchange for the most intense suffering for the sake of Jesus (&nbsp;1 Peter 1:7 ). It is for this reason that those who lead the church must have no fondness for money (&nbsp;Acts 20:33; &nbsp;1 Timothy 3:3,8; &nbsp;Titus 1:7,11; &nbsp;1 Peter 5:2; contrast the [[Pharisees]] in &nbsp;Luke 16:14 ). There is no greater demonstrations of the contrary value system represented by money than Paul's observation that the love of money is the root of all evil (&nbsp;1 Timothy 6:10 ). </p> <p> Money is also unreliable because people falsify the standards of measurement for personal gain, or, in the words of &nbsp;Amos 8:5 , "make the shekel bigger" (cf. the ideal of just balances and weights in &nbsp;Leviticus 19:36; &nbsp;Job 31:6; &nbsp;Ezekiel 45:10 ). The arbitrary and flexible nature of monetary standards, permitting easy manipulation, is evident in the variety of calibrations that are mentioned in the Bible: the royal standard (&nbsp;2 Samuel 14:26 ), the merchant's standard (&nbsp;Genesis 23:16 ), and the "sanctuary shekel" (&nbsp;Exodus 30:13; &nbsp;38:24-26 ). [[Mesopotamia]] attested simultaneous usage of a "heavy" and "light" shekel in both a royal and a common standard; ancient Near Eastern standards not only varied within one geographical locale but fluctuated from place to place and over time. Such practices prompted legislation in Israel: "Do not have differing weights in your bagone heavy, one light" (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 25:13 ). </p> <p> People tend to cling to money, addicted to its false security. Because money behaves like a spiritual narcotic, deadening one's sensitivity to real value, Jesus insists that one cannot be committed simultaneously to both God's values and "mammon" (an [[Aramaic]] word meaning money, wealth, or property &nbsp;Matthew 6:24 ). [[Ananias]] and [[Sapphira]] tried to pursue both and proved the veracity of Jesus' words as well as the spiritual corruption that money serves to catalyze (&nbsp;Acts 5:1-10 ). Money is therefore quite dangerous, prompting Jesus to advise his followers not to take any money with them on their preaching tours (&nbsp;Mark 6:8; &nbsp;Luke 9:3 ) and to give away any money that came from the sale of their estates (&nbsp;Luke 18:22; cf. &nbsp;Acts 4:34-37 ). </p> <p> A further problem with money surfaces when one uses it to earn more money at the expense of others in need, specifically in the charging of interest for monetary loans. Jesus' parables portray the phenomenon of interest in order to underscore the point that God expects his people to use his gifts productively (&nbsp;Matthew 25:27 ). Extraordinarily high interest rates could make loans a lucrative enterprise, when, for example, annual interest rates on silver in Mesopotamia were attested as high as 80 percent. There was a stage when the interest on monetary loans was legally distinguished from the interest on loans of food (a distinction attested elsewhere in the ancient Near East). It was a general perception that one who borrowed was in a state of curse, while the one who lended was in a position of being blessed by God (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 28:12,44; &nbsp;Psalm 37:26; &nbsp;Proverbs 22:7 ). Nevertheless, lending freely to those in need was a sign of the godly person, and loans, even to the poor, were an accepted part of life governed by ideals that would prevent humiliation (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 24:10-13 ). However, it was legally prohibited to use money to make money specifically at the expense of a poor [[Israelite]] (&nbsp;Exodus 22:25; &nbsp;Leviticus 25:35-37 ). This would seem to imply that interest on loans to those who were well-off was acceptable, but other passages clarify that although non-Israelites could be charged interest, one could not take interest from any Israelite, whether poor or not (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 23:19-20 ). The righteous person does not use his money to make money at anyone's expense (&nbsp;Psalm 15:5 ), for it is the wicked person who becomes wealthy by taking interest (&nbsp;Proverbs 28:8 ). In spite of such guidelines, the postexilic Jewish community monetarily enslaved poor Jews by loaning money at interest so that they could pay their taxes, a travesty that angered Nehemiah and prompted a reform so that such loans became interest-free (&nbsp;Nehemiah 5:4-12 ). </p> <p> The power of money is no more dramatically confronted than when one uses money to purchase another human being. When one paid money for a human in the Old Testament, that purchase brought the slave into the sphere of the owner's household comparable to the status of one born in the house, eradicating the slave's former ethnic and social ties as far as cultic matters were concerned. A slaveowner could mistreat a slave with impunity short of actually killing him or her for, in the words of &nbsp;Exodus 21:21 , "the slave is his property." The reality of purchasing humans becomes one of the more powerful images for depicting God's "redemption" (an economic term) of his people: this image conveys God's ownership of his people and their resulting obligation to obey him (cf. &nbsp;Genesis 47:13-26 ). As Peter stresses, however, money is inadequate for this transaction, for we were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ (&nbsp;1 Peter 1:18-19 ). </p> <p> There is no record of money or precious metals being treated as unfit for sacred purposes in the Old Testament. Quite the contraryeven the wages of a harlot could be used for the support of the temple (&nbsp;Isaiah 23:18 ). Nevertheless, the priests in the New Testament were reluctant to incorporate into the temple treasury money that was used to betray a man to death (Judas's "blood money" for handing over Jesus &nbsp;Matthew 27:6 )a curious irony since the men who participated in the transaction continued to serve in the temple with no sense of impropriety. </p> <p> Samuel A. Meier </p> <p> <i> See also </i> [[Wages]]; [[Wealth]] </p> <p> <i> Bibliography </i> . O. Borowski, <i> BAR </i> 19/5 (1993): 68-70; A. Kindler and A. Stein, <i> A Bibliography of the City Coinage of Palestine from the 2Century B.C. to the 3Century A.D. </i> ; S. E. Loewenstamm, <i> JBL </i> 88 (1968): 78-80. </p>

<p> [[Scripture]] often speaks of gold, silver, brass, of certain sums of money, of purchases made with money, of current money, of money of a certain weight; but we do not observe coined or stamped money till a late period; which makes it probable that the ancient Hebrews took gold and silver only by weight; that they only considered the purity of the metal, and not the stamp. The most ancient commerce was conducted by barter, or exchanging one sort of merchandise for another. One man gave what he could spare to another, who gave him in return part of his superabundance. Afterward, the more precious metals were used in traffic, as a value more generally known and fixed. Lastly, they gave this metal, by public authority, a certain mark, a certain weight, and a certain degree of alloy, to fix its value, and to save buyers and sellers the trouble of weighing and examining the coins. At the siege of Troy in Homer, no reference is made to gold or silver coined; but the value of things is estimated by the number of oxen they were worth. For instance: they bought wine, by exchanging oxen, slaves, skins, iron, &c: for it. When the Greeks first used money, it was only little pieces of iron or copper, called <em> oboli </em> or spits, of which a handful was a drachma, says Plutarch. [[Herodotus]] thinks that the Lydians were the first that stamped money of gold or silver, and introduced it into commerce. Others say it was Ishon, king of Thessaly, a son of Deucalion. Others ascribe this honour to Erichthonius, who had been educated by the daughters of Cecrops, king of Athens: others, again, to Phidon, king of Argos. Among the [[Persians]] it is said Darius, son of Hystaspes, first coined golden money. [[Lycurgus]] banished gold and silver from his commonwealth of Lacedaemon, and only allowed a rude sort of money, made of iron. Janus, or rather the kings of Rome, made a kind of gross money of copper, having on one side the double face of Janus, on the other the prow of a ship. We find nothing concerning the money of the Egyptians, Phenicians, Arabians, or Syrians, before Alexander the Great. In China, to this day, they stamp no money of gold or silver, but only of copper. Gold and silver pass as merchandise. If gold or silver be offered, they take it and pay it by weight, as other goods: so that they are obliged to cut it into pieces with shears for that purpose, and they carry a steel yard at their girdles to weigh it. </p> <p> But to return to the Hebrews. Abraham weighed out four hundred shekels of silver, to purchase Sarah's tomb, &nbsp;Genesis 23:15-16; and Scripture observes that he paid this in "current money with the merchant." Joseph was sold by his brethren to the [[Midianites]] for twenty pieces (in Hebrew twenty shekels) of silver, &nbsp;Genesis 37:28 . The brethren of Joseph bring back with them into Egypt the money they found in their sacks, in the same weight as before, &nbsp;Genesis 43:21 . The bracelets that [[Eliezer]] gave [[Rebekah]] weighed ten shekels, and the ear rings two shekels, &nbsp;Genesis 24:22 . [[Moses]] ordered that the weight of five hundred shekels of myrrh, and two hundred and fifty shekels of cinnamon, of the weight of the sanctuary, should be taken, to make the perfume which was to be burnt to the Lord on the golden altar, &nbsp;Exodus 30:24 . He acquaints us that the Israelites offered for the works of the tabernacle seventy-two thousand talents of brass, &nbsp;Exodus 38:29 . We read, in the books of Samuel, that the weight of Absalom's hair was two hundred shekels of the ordinary weight, or of the king's weight, &nbsp;2 Samuel 14:26 . &nbsp;Isaiah 46:6 , describes the wicked as weighing silver in a balance, to make an idol of it; and &nbsp;Jeremiah 32:10 , weighs seventeen pieces of silver in a pair of scales, to pay for a field he had bought. Isaiah says, "Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. [[Wherefore]] do ye weigh money for that which is not bread?" &nbsp;Amos 8:5 , represents the merchants as encouraging one another to make the ephah small, wherewith to sell, and the shekel great, wherewith to buy, and to falsify the balances by deceit. </p> <p> In all these passages three things only are mentioned: </p> <p> <strong> 1. </strong> The metal, that is, gold or silver, and never copper, that not being used in traffic as money. </p> <p> <strong> 2. </strong> The weight, a talent, a shekel, a gerah or <em> obolus, </em> the weight of the sanctuary, and the king's weight. </p> <p> <strong> 3. </strong> The alloy (standard) of pure or fine gold and silver, and of good quality, as received by the merchant. The impression of the coinage is not referred to; but it is said they weighed the silver, or other commodities, by the shekel and by the talent. This shekel, therefore, and this talent, were not fixed and determined pieces of money, but weights applied to things used in commerce. Hence those deceitful balances of the merchants, who would increase the shekel, that is, would augment the weight by which they weighed the gold and silver they were to receive, that they might have a greater quantity than was their due; hence the weight of the sanctuary, the standard of which was preserved in the temple to prevent fraud; hence those prohibitions in the law, "Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights," in Hebrew, stones, "a great and a small," &nbsp; Deuteronomy 25:13; hence those scales that the Hebrews wore at their girdles, &nbsp;Hosea 12:7 , and the [[Canaanites]] carried in their hands, to weigh the gold and silver which they received in payment. It is true that in the Hebrew we find [[Jacob]] bought a field for a hundred <em> kesitahs, </em> &nbsp; Genesis 33:19; and that the friends of Job, after his recovery, gave to that model of patience each a <em> kesitah, </em> and a golden pendant for the ears, &nbsp; Job 42:11 . We also find there <em> darics, </em> (in Hebrew, <em> darcmonim </em> or <em> adarcmonim, </em> ) and <em> mina, staterae, oboli; </em> but this last kind of money was foreign, and is put for other terms, which in the Hebrew only signifies the weight of the metal. The <em> kesitah </em> is not well known to us; some take it for a sheep or a lamb; others, for a kind of money, having the impression of a lamb or a sheep; but it was more probably a purse of money. The <em> darcmonim </em> or <em> darics </em> are money of the kings of Persia; and it is agreed that Darius, son of Hystaspes, first coined golden money. &nbsp; Ezekiel 45:12 , tells us that the <em> mina </em> makes fifty shekels: he reduces this foreign money to the weight of the Hebrews. The <em> mina </em> might probably be a Persian money originally, and adopted by the Greeks and by the Hebrews. But under the dominion of the Persians, the Hebrews were hardly at liberty to coin money of their own, being in subjection to those princes, and very low in their own country. They were still less able under the Chaldeans, during the [[Babylonish]] captivity; or afterward under the Grecians, to whom they were subject till the time of Simon Maccabaeus, to whom Antiochus Sidetes, king of Syria, granted the privilege of coining money in Judea, 1Ma_15:6 . And this is the first Hebrew money, properly so called, that we know of. There were shekels and demi-shekels, also the third part of a shekel, and a quarter of a shekel, of silver. </p> <p> The shekel of silver, or the silverling, &nbsp;Isaiah 7:23 , originally weighed three hundred and twenty barleycorns; but it was afterward increased to three hundred and eighty-four barleycorns, its value being considered equal to four Roman denarii, was two shillings and seven pence, or according to [[Bishop]] Cumberland, two shillings and four pence farthing. It is said to have had Aaron's rod on the one side, and the pot of manna on the other. The bekah was equal to half a shekel, &nbsp;Exodus 38:26 . The denarius was one- fourth of a shekel, seven pence three farthings of our money. The gerah, or meah, &nbsp;Exodus 30:13 , was the sixth part of the denarius, or diner, and the twenty-fourth part of the shekel. The assar, or assarion, &nbsp;Matthew 10:29 , was the ninety-sixth part of a shekel: its value was rather more than a farthing. The farthing, &nbsp;Matthew 5:26 , was in value the thirteenth part of a penny sterling. The mite was the half of a farthing, or the twenty-sixth part of a penny sterling. The mina, or maneh, &nbsp;Ezekiel 45:12 , was equal to sixty shekels, which, taken at two shillings and seven pence, was seven pounds fifteen shillings. The talent was fifty minas; and its value, therefore, three hundred and eighty-seven pounds ten shillings. The gold coins were as follows; a shekel of gold was about fourteen and a half times the value of silver, that is, one pound seventeen shillings and five pence halfpenny. A talent of gold consisted of three thousand shekels. The drachma was equal to a Roman denarius, or seven pence three farthings of our money. The didrachma, or tribute money, &nbsp;Matthew 17:24 , was equal to fifteen pence halfpenny. It is said to have been stamped with a harp on one side, and a vine on the other. The stater, or piece of money which Peter found in the fish's mouth, &nbsp;Matthew 17:27 , was two half shekels. A daric, dram, &nbsp;1 Chronicles 29:7; &nbsp;Ezra 8:27 , was a gold coin struck by Darius the Mede. According to Parkhurst its value was one pound five shillings. A gold penny is stated by Lightfoot to have been equal to twenty-five silver pence. </p> <p> Hug derives a satisfactory argument for the veracity of the [[Gospels]] from the different kinds of money mentioned in them:—The admixture of foreign manners and constitutions proceeded through numberless circumstances of life. Take, for example, the circulation of coin; at one time it is Greek coin; at another, Roman; at another time ancient Jewish. But how accurately is even this stated according to history, and the arrangement of things! The ancient imposts which were introduced before the Roman dominion were valued according to the Greek coinage; for example, the taxes of the temple, the διδραχμον , &nbsp;Matthew 17:24 . The offerings were paid in these, &nbsp;Mark 12:42; &nbsp;Luke 21:2 . A payment which proceeded from the temple treasury was made according to the ancient national payment by weight, &nbsp;Matthew 26:15; but in common business, trade, wages, sale &c, the assis and denarius and Roman coin were usual, &nbsp;Matthew 10:29; &nbsp;Matthew 20:3; &nbsp;Luke 12:6; &nbsp;Mark 14:5; &nbsp;John 12:5; &nbsp;John 6:7 . The more modern state taxes are likewise paid in the coin of the nation which exercises at the time the greatest authority, &nbsp;Matthew 22:19; &nbsp;Mark 12:15; &nbsp;Luke 20:24 . Writers, who, in each little circumstance, which otherwise would pass by unnoticed, so accurately describe the period of time, must certainly have had a personal knowledge of it. </p>

<p> No coined money is mentioned in the Bible before Ezra'a time , when other evidence also exists of its having been current in Palestine. (See EZRA.) The first notice of coinage, occurring exactly when it ought, if the books professing to precede Ezra's really do so, confirms the accepted earliness of their dates. Money was originally weighed; in the form of rings, as represented on [[Egyptian]] monuments. So the Celtic gold rings all contain exact multiples or parts of a unit; probably a currency introduced by Phoenician traders. We know of Greek coinage as far back as the eighth century B.C. Asiatic is probably not older than [[Cyrus]] and [[Croesus]] who are said to have originated it. It was known probably in [[Samaria]] through commerce with Greece. Pheidon first coined silver in the isle Aegina in the eighth or ninth century before Christ, some time between Jehoshaphat's and Hezekiah's reigns. [[Lydia]] disputes with [[Greece]] priority of coinage. It is not mentioned as a currency in Judea before the return from Babylon. </p> <p> "Shekel" previously meant a weight, not a coinage. The "thousand pieces of silver" which [[Abimelech]] gave Abraham (&nbsp;Genesis 20:16) were of this kind; so the 400 shekels "weighed" by Abraham to Ephron (&nbsp;Genesis 23:3; &nbsp;Genesis 23:9; &nbsp;Genesis 23:16), "current (money) with the merchant"; implying that the silver was in some conventional shapes, with a rude sign to mark its weight. The "weighing" however implies that this currency did not bear the stamp of authority, and so needed weighing for barter. Jacob paid 100 kesitahs for a field at [[Shalem]] (&nbsp;Genesis 23:18-19 margin); Chald. and [[Septuagint]] "lambs," namely, lamb shaped or lamb stamped pieces of silver, as pecunia , from pecus; but the Arabic root implies equal division, or scales; Umbreit, "weighed out" (compare with &nbsp;Genesis 23:15-16), possibly each equal to four shekels; it is probably a ring-shaped ingot or a bar of silver of a definite weight; Bochart from qasat , "pure" (&nbsp;Job 42:11). </p> <p> Joseph's brethren received their money "in full weight" (&nbsp;Genesis 43:21). Silver money alone was used, the standard shekel weight being kept in the sanctuary under charge of the priests, from whence arose the phrase "the shekel of the sanctuary" (&nbsp;Exodus 30:18). The wedge or tongue of gold that Achan took was not money probably, as the 200 shekels of silver were, but an article of value used for costly ornamentation. In &nbsp;Isaiah 46:6, however, gold seems to mean uncoined money, "they lavish gold out of the purse ('bag'), and weigh silver in the balance." The Attic talent was the standard one under Alexander, and subsequently down to Roman times; the drachma however becoming depreciated from 67.5 or 65.5 grains under [[Alexandra]] to 55 under the early Ceasars; the Roman coinage, gold and silver, in weights was conformed to the Greek, and the denarius the chief silver coin was equivalent to the then depreciated Attic drachma. </p> <p> Antiochus VII granted Simon the [[Maccabee]] permission to coin money with his own stamp, the first recorded coining of Jewish money (&nbsp;1 Maccabees 15:6; 140 B.C.); inscribed "shekel of Israel"; a vase, possibly the pot of manna, and the Hebrew letter 'Αleph ( א ) above it (i.e. the first year of Jewish independence, namely, under the Maccabees); the reverse has "Jerusalem the holy," and a branch with three flowers, possibly Aaron's rod that budded or the pomegranate. In copper, on one side a palmtree with the name "Simon"; the reverse, a vine leaf, with the legend "for the freedom of Jerusalem." Shekel (from shaaqal "to weigh") was the Jewish stater ("standard"), 2 shillings, 6 pence. (See SHEKEL.) It corresponds to the tetradrachma or didrachma of the earlier Phoenician talent under the Persian rule. The shekel was of the same weight as the didrachmon, (the translation of "shekel" in Septuagint), and was the same as the Egyptian unit of weight. </p> <p> The [[Alexandrian]] Jews adopted for "shekel" the term didrachma, the coin corresponding to it in weight. But as two drachmas each (1 shilling, 3 pence) was the ransom "tribute" (as the Greek didrachma in Matthew is translated in KJV) to the temple, so the "stater" or shekel found in the fish would be four drachmas (&nbsp;Exodus 30:12-13; &nbsp;Matthew 17:24-27). Four Attic drachmas equaled two Alexandrian drachmas. The minute accuracy of the evangelist confirms the genuineness; for at this time the only Greek imperial silver coin in the East was a tetra-drachma , i.e. four drachmas, the di-drachma being unknown or rarely coined. Darics ("drams"), a Persian coin, were the standard gold currency in Ezra's time (&nbsp;Ezra 2:69; &nbsp;Ezra 8:27; &nbsp;Nehemiah 7:70-72). Ezra the author of Chronicles uses the same name (&nbsp;1 Chronicles 29:7). The daric in the British Museum has the king of [[Persia]] with bow and javelin, kneeling; the reverse is an irregular incuse square. </p> <p> [[Copper]] coins of [[Herod]] are extant in abundance, as the "farthing" of the New Testament, a piece of brass or copper (chalkous ), with "king Herod" and an anchor; the reverse, two cornua copiae "horns of plenty," within which is a caduceus , Mercury's wand. The Palestinian currency was mainly of copper, from whence Mark (&nbsp;Mark 6:8) uses "copper" or brass for "money" (margin, compare &nbsp;Matthew 10:9). The Roman denarius or "penny" in weight and value in New Testament is equivalent to the Greek drachma (&nbsp;Matthew 22:19; &nbsp;Luke 15:8, Greek text). The accuracy of the first three Gospels, and their date soon after the ascension, appear from their making Caesar's head be on the denarius. So, the penny coin extant of [[Tiberius]] has the title "Caesar," whereas most later emperors have the title Augustus. The most interesting extant coin is that struck by [[Pontius]] Pilate: on the obverse an augur's wand with "Tiberius Caesar" round; on the reverse the date in a wreath. </p> <p> Tiberius' passion for augury and astrology suggested the augur's lithus. A Lydian coin extant mentions the Asiarchs, "chief of Asia" (&nbsp;Acts 19:31). A coin of [[Ephesus]] mentions its "town clerk"; also another its temple and statue of Diana. A coin of [[Domitian]] records rich Laodicea's restoration by its citizens after an earthquake which also destroyed Colessae and Hierapolis, which accounts for their omission in the addresses in Revelation. Coins exist of the time of Judea's revolt from Rome, inscribed with "the liberty of Zion," a vine stalk, leaf, and tendril. The famous Roman coin (see p. 405), struck after Titus took Jerusalem, has the legend [[Judaea]] Capta, with a female" sitting on the ground desolate" (fulfilling &nbsp;Isaiah 3:26) under a palm tree. Also a Greek coin has Titus' head, and the legend "the emperor Titus Caesar"; reverse, [[Victory]] writing on a shield, before her a palm. The Attic talent (the one current in New Testament period) had 100 drachmas, the drachma being = 7 3/4d.; the mina was 3 British pounds, 4 shillings, 7 pence, and the talent 193 British pounds, 15 shillings. </p> <p> The talent was not a coin but a sum. The Hebrew talent = 3,000 shekels, or 375 British pounds (about the weight of the Aegina talent), for 603,550 persons paid 100 talents and 1,775 shekels of silver, i.e., as each paid a half shekel, 301,775 whole shekels; so that 100 talents contained 300,000 shekels. The gold talent was 100 manehs or minae , and the gold muneh was 100 shekels of gold; the gold talent weighed 1,290,000 grains, a computation agreeing with the shekels extant. The talent of copper had probably 1,500 copper shekels, copper being to silver as 1 to 72. The quadrans (&nbsp;Mark 12:42; &nbsp;Luke 12:59; &nbsp;Luke 21:2) or kodrantes (Greek), "farthing," was a fourth of an obolus , which was a sixth of a drachma. (See HAND.) The assarion , a diminutive of an "as," less than our penny, is loosely translated "farthing" in &nbsp;Matthew 10:29; &nbsp;Luke 12:6. The lepton , "mite," was a seventh of an obolus (&nbsp;Mark 12:42). The 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas for betraying Jesus were tetradrachmas or shekels, the sum paid for a slave accidentally killed (&nbsp;Zechariah 11:12; &nbsp;Zechariah 11:18; &nbsp;Matthew 26:15; &nbsp;Exodus 21:32). </p>

<div> '''1: ἀργύριον ''' (Strong'S #694 — Noun Neuter — argurion — ar-goo'-ree-on ) </div> <p> properly, "a piece of silver," denotes (a) "silver," e.g., &nbsp;Acts 3:6; (b) a "silver coin," often in the plural, "pieces of silver," e.g., &nbsp;Matthew 26:15; so &nbsp;Matthew 28:12 , where the meaning is "many, (hikanos) pieces of silver;" (c) "money;" it has this meaning in &nbsp;Matthew 25:18,27; &nbsp;28:15; &nbsp;Mark 14:11; &nbsp;Luke 9:3; &nbsp;19:15,23; &nbsp;22:5; &nbsp;Acts 8:20 (here the RV has "silver"). </p> &nbsp;Acts 7:16Silver. <div> '''2: χρῆμα ''' (Strong'S #5536 — Noun Neuter — chrema — khray'-mah ) </div> <p> lit., "a thing that one uses" (akin to chraomai, "to use"), hence, (a) "wealth, riches," &nbsp;Mark 10:23,24; &nbsp;Luke 18:24; (b) "money," &nbsp;Acts 4:37 , singular number, "a sum of money;" plural in 8:18,20; 24:26. See Riches. </p> <div> '''3: χαλκός ''' (Strong'S #5475 — Noun Masculine — chalkos — khal-kos' ) </div> <p> "copper," is used, by metonymy, of "copper coin," translated "money," in &nbsp;Mark 6:8; &nbsp;12:41 . See Brass. </p> <div> '''4: κέρμα ''' (Strong'S #2772 — Noun Neuter — kerma — ker'-mah ) </div> <p> primarily "a slice" (akin to keiro, "to cut short"), hence, "a small coin, change," is used in the plural in &nbsp;John 2:15 , "the changers' money," probably considerable heaps of small coins. </p> <div> '''5: νόμισμα ''' (Strong'S #3546 — Noun Neuter — nomisma — nom'-is-mah ) </div> <p> primarily "that which is established by custom" (nomos, "a custom, law"), hence, "the current coin of a state, currency," is found in &nbsp;Matthew 22:19 , "(tribute) money." In the Sept., &nbsp;Nehemiah 7:71 . </p> &nbsp;Matthew 17:27Shekel.

<p> '''Money.''' </p> <p> 1. '''Uncoined money.''' - It is well known that ancient nations, that were without a coinage, weighed the precious metals, a practice represented on the Egyptian monuments, on which gold and silver are shown to have been kept in the form of rings. We have no evidence of the use of coined money, before the return from the Babylonian captivity; but silver was used for money, in quantities determined by weight, at least as early as the time of Abraham; and its earliest mention is in the generic sense of the price paid for a slave. &nbsp;Genesis 17:13. </p> <p> The 1000 pieces of silver, paid by Abimelech to Abraham, &nbsp;Genesis 20:16, and the 20 pieces of silver, for which Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites, &nbsp;Genesis 37:28, were probably rings such as we see on the Egyptian monuments, in the act of being weighed. </p> <p> In the first recorded transaction of commerce, the cave of Machpelah is purchased by Abraham for 400 shekels of silver. The shekel weight of silver was the unit of value through the whole age of Hebrew history, down to the Babylonian captivity. </p> <p> 2. '''Coined money.''' - After the captivity, we have the earliest mention of coined money, in allusion, as might have been expected, to the Persian coinage, the gold daric, (Authorized version, dram). &nbsp;Ezra 2:69; &nbsp;Ezra 8:27; &nbsp;Nehemiah 7:70-72. See '''Daric''' . </p> <p> No native Jewish coinage appears to have existed till Antiochus VII. Sidetes granted Simon Maccabaeus, the license to coin money, B.C. 140; and it is now generally agreed that the oldest Jewish silver coins belong to this period. They are shekels and half-shekels, of the weight of 220 and 110 grains. With this silver, there was associated a copper coinage. </p> <p> The abundant money of Herod the Great, which is of a thoroughly Greek character, and of copper only, seems to have been a continuation of the copper coinage of the Maccabees, with some adaptation to the Roman standard. In the money of the New Testament, we see the native copper coinage, side by side with the Graeco-Roman copper, silver and gold. </p> <p> (The first coined money mentioned in the Bible refers to the Persian coinage, &nbsp;1 Chronicles 29:7; &nbsp;Ezra 2:69, and translated dram. It is the Persian daric, a gold coin worth about $5.50. The coins mentioned by the evangelists, and first those of silver, are the following: The stater, &nbsp;Matthew 17:24-27, called piece of money, was a Roman coin equal to four drachmas. It was worth 55 to 60 cents, and is of about the same value as the Jewish stater, or coined shekel. </p> <p> The denarius, or Roman penny, as well as the Greek drachma, then of about the same weight, are spoken of as current coins. &nbsp;Matthew 22:15-21; &nbsp;Luke 20:19-25. They were worth about 15 cents. Of copper coins, the farthing and its half, the mite, are spoken of, and these probably formed the chief native currency. </p> <p> (The Roman farthing, (quadrans), was a brass coin worth.375 of a cent. The Greek, farthing (as or assarion), was worth four Roman farthings, that is, about one cent and a half. A mite was half a farthing, and therefore, was worth about two-tenths of a cent if the half of the Roman farthing, and about 2 cents if the half of the Greek farthing. See Table of Jewish Weights and Measures. - Editor). </p>

<p> '''Money.''' &nbsp;Genesis 17:12. This word occurs about 130 times in the A. V., and represents three Hebrew words: keseph or k'saph occurring most frequently (about 110 times) in historical books, only a few times in the poetical books, as &nbsp;Psalms 15:5; &nbsp;Proverbs 7:20; &nbsp;Lamentations 5:4. Two other Hebrew words, qesitah and qinyon, also appear early in the Old Testament, &nbsp;Genesis 33:19; &nbsp;Leviticus 22:11. Money also represents six Greek words in the New Testament: argurion, meaning "silver," &nbsp;Matthew 25:18; kerma, a small coin, &nbsp;John 2:15; nomisma, meaning possibly "legal coin," &nbsp;Matthew 22:19; chalkos, a copper coin, &nbsp;Mark 6:8; chrema, &nbsp;Acts 8:18, and stater, rendered "shekel"in the R. V., equal to 24 drachmas. &nbsp;Matthew 17:27. Coined money, as now in use among civilized nations, was unknown in the world until about six hundred years before Christ. The Assyrians, Babylonians, and [[Egyptians]] had no coins until about b.c. 300. David and [[Solomon]] never saw any coined money. The Jews had none until the time of the Maccabees, about b.c. 139. Before the periods named, gold and silver were used as money by weight; and are now so used in some eastern countries. The first mention of money is in the touching story of Abraham's buying a burial place for his wife. It is said, "Abraham weighed the silver, four hundred shekels, current with the merchant." (Jen. 23:4-16. It appears to have been then in general use. The study of ancient coined money is interesting, showing the rise of the arts and their fall during the dark ages of priestcraft, from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries; the coins of 400 years before Christ being superb, while those a thousand years after Christ are hardly discernible. The early coins show, not only the likenesses of kings and emperors, but also many of the most important events of their reigns. For the corns mentioned in the Bible, see Shekel, Penny, Farthing. </p>

&nbsp;Genesis 13:2&nbsp;20:16&nbsp;24:35&nbsp;Genesis 33:18,19 <p> The history of Joseph affords evidence of the constant use of money, silver of a fixed weight. This appears also in all the subsequent history of the Jewish people, in all their internal as well as foreign transactions. There were in common use in trade silver pieces of a definite weight, shekels, half-shekels, and quarter-shekels. But these were not properly coins, which are pieces of metal authoritatively issued, and bearing a stamp. </p> <p> Of the use of coined money we have no early notice among the Hebrews. The first mentioned is of Persian coinage, the daric (&nbsp;Ezra 2:69; &nbsp;Nehemiah 7:70 ) and the 'adarkon (&nbsp;Ezra 8:27 ). The daric (q.v.) was a gold piece current in Palestine in the time of Cyrus. As long as the Jews, after the Exile, lived under Persian rule, they used Persian coins. These gave place to Greek coins when Palestine came under the dominion of the Greeks (B.C. 331), the coins consisting of gold, silver, and copper pieces. The usual gold pieces were staters (q.v.), and the silver coins tetradrachms and drachms. </p> <p> In the year B.C. 140, Antiochus VII. gave permission to Simon the Maccabee to coin Jewish money. Shekels (q.v.) were then coined bearing the figure of the almond rod and the pot of manna. </p>

<p> MONEY, n. plu. moneys. </p> 1. [[Coin]] stamped metal any piece of metal, usually gold, silver or copper, stamped by public authority, and used as the medium of commerce. We sometimes give the name of money to other coined metals,and to any other material which rude nations use a medium of trade. But among modern commercial nations, gold, silver and copper are the only metals used for this purpose. Gold and silver, containing great value in small compass, and being therefore of easy conveyance, and being also durable and little liable to diminution by use, are the most convenient metals for coin or money, which is the representative of commodities of all kinds, of lands, and of every thing that is capable of being transferred in commerce. 2. Bank notes or bills of credit issued by authority, and exchangeable for coin or redeemable, are also called money as such notes in modern times represent coin, and are used as a substitute for it. If a man pays in hand for goods in bank notes which are current, he is said to pay in ready money. 3. Wealth affluence. <p> Money can neither open new avenues to pleasure, nor block up the passages of anguish. </p>

<p> The Bible recognizes the possession and use of money as a legitimate part of life in human society. (Concerning the kinds of money in use in Bible times see COINS.) But the benefits that money brings are temporary, and those who become over-concerned with increasing their wealth eventually bring trouble upon themselves (&nbsp;Matthew 6:19-23; &nbsp;1 Timothy 6:9-10; see WEALTH). </p> <p> [[Poverty]] is not desirable either, and people should use their money to help those who are in need (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 15:7-10; &nbsp;James 2:15-16; see POOR). Christians have a responsibility to give their money generously, both as an offering to God and as a service to his work in the world (&nbsp;2 Corinthians 9:6-13; see GIVING). </p>

<p> '''(1):''' ''' (''' v. t.) To supply with money. </p> <p> '''(2):''' ''' (''' n.) A piece of metal, as gold, silver, copper, etc., coined, or stamped, and issued by the sovereign authority as a medium of exchange in financial transactions between citizens and with government; also, any number of such pieces; coin. </p> <p> '''(3):''' ''' (''' n.) Any written or stamped promise, certificate, or order, as a government note, a bank note, a certificate of deposit, etc., which is payable in standard coined money and is lawfully current in lieu of it; in a comprehensive sense, any currency usually and lawfully employed in buying and selling. </p> <p> '''(4):''' ''' (''' n.) In general, wealth; property; as, he has much money in land, or in stocks; to make, or lose, money. </p>

<p> [[Mention]] is made of money as early as &nbsp;Genesis 17:12,13 , where persons are said to be 'bought with money;' and from Genesis to Zechariah it is spoken of as being not counted, but weighed, which would give the true value of the precious metals in the form of rings or in odd pieces of gold or silver. The names Gerah, Bekah, Shekel, Maneh, and Talent, being used for weights as well as money, the two are better considered together. See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. </p> <p> On the return of the Jews, B.C. 536, Persian money was used by them. This would be followed by Greek money when they were under the dominion of the Greeks. Antiochus VII about B.C. 140, granted permission to Simon Maccabeus to coin Jewish money. Shekels were coined bearing a pot of manna and an almond rod. Under the Romans, Roman money was used. </p>

<p> Fig. 256—Jewish Coin </p> <p> This term is used to denote whatever commodity the inhabitants of any country may have agreed or are compelled to receive as an equivalent for their labor, and in exchange for other commodities. </p> <p> Different commodities have been used as money in the primitive state of society in all countries, such as skins, cattle, corn, dried fish, sugar, and salt. A long period of time must have intervened between the first introduction of the precious metals into commerce, and their becoming generally used as money. The peculiar qualities which so eminently fit them for this purpose would only be gradually discovered. They would probably be first introduced in their gross and unpurified state. A sheep, an ox, a certain quantity of corn, or any other article, would afterwards be bartered or exchanged for pieces of gold or silver in bars or ingots, in the same way as they would formerly have been exchanged for iron, copper, cloth, or anything else. The merchants would soon begin to estimate their proper value, and, in effecting exchanges, would first agree upon the quality of the metal to be given, and then the quantity which its possessor had become bound to pay would be ascertained by weight. This, according to [[Aristotle]] and Pliny, was the manner in which the precious metals were originally exchanged in Greece and Italy. The same practice is still observed in different countries. In many parts of China and Abyssinia the value of gold and silver is always ascertained by weight. Iron was the first money of the Lacedemonians, and copper of the Romans. </p> <p> In the sacred writings there is frequent mention of gold, silver, and brass, sums of money, purchases made with money, current money, and money of a certain weight. Indeed, the money of Scripture is all estimated by weight. 'Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant' . The brethren of Joseph carried back into Egypt the money 'in full weight' which they had found in their sacks (; see also;;; ). It was customary for the Jews to have scales attached to their girdles for weighing the gold and silver they received; but the Canaanites carried them in their hands. </p> <p> There is no direct allusion in the sacred writings to coined money as belonging to the Jewish nation. In , Jacob is said to have bought a part of a field 'for an hundred pieces of money;' and the friends of Job are said to have given him each 'a piece of money' . The term in the original is kesitoth, and is by some thought to denote 'sheep' or 'lamb;' by others a kind of money having the impression of a sheep or lamb; and by others again a purse of money. The most correct translation may be presumed to be that which favors the idea of a piece of money bearing some stamp or mark indicating that it was of the value of a sheep or lamb. Maurice, in his [[Antiquities]] of India (vol. 7), bears testimony to the fact that the earliest coins were stamped with the figure of an ox or sheep. In the British Museum there is a specimen of the original Roman As, the surface of which is nearly the size of a brick, with the figure of a bull impressed upon it. Other devices would suggest themselves to different nations as arising out of, or connected with, particular places or circumstances, as the Babylonish lion, Ægina's tortoise, Bœotia's shield, the lyre of Mitylene, the wheat of Metapontum. [[Religion]] would also at an early period claim to be distinguished, and accordingly the effigies of Juno, Diana, Ceres, Jove, Hercules, Apollo, Bacchus, Pluto, Neptune, and many other of the heathen deities are found impressed upon the early coins. The Jews, however, were the worshippers of the one only true God; idolatry was strictly forbidden in their law; and therefore their shekel never bore a head, but was impressed simply with the almond rod and the pot of manna. </p> <p> The first Roman coinage took place, according to Pliny (Hist. Nat. xxxiii. 3), in the reign of [[Serving]] Tullius, about 550 years before Christ; but it was not until Alexander of Macedon had subdued the Persian monarchy, and [[Julius]] Caesar had consolidated the Roman Empire, that the image of a living ruler was permitted to be stamped upon the coins. Previous to that period heroes and deities alone gave currency to the money of imperial Rome. </p> <p> Antiochus Sidetes, king of Syria, is represented to have granted to Simon Maccabeus the privilege of coining money in Judea . This is considered to be the first mention of Hebrew money, properly so called. It consisted of shekels and demi-shekels, the third part of a shekel, and the quarter of a shekel, of silver. </p> <p> From the time of Julius Caesar, who first struck a living portrait on his coins, the Roman coins run in a continued succession of so-called Caesars, their queens and crown-princes, from about B.C. 48 down to [[Romulus]] Augustulus, emperor of the West, who was dethroned by [[Odoacer]] about A.D. 475. </p> <p> After its subjugation by Rome much foreign money found its way into the land of Judea. The piece of tribute money, or coin mentioned in , as presented to our Savior, bore the image and superscription of the Roman emperor, and it is reasonable to suppose that a large quantity of Roman coins was at that time in circulation throughout Judea. </p>

<p> ''' Copyright StatementThese files are public domain. Bibliography InformationMcClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Money'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and [[Ecclesiastical]] Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/m/money.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870. ''' </p>