Money

Of uncoined money the first notice we have is in the history of "Abraham (Gen. 13:2; 20:16; 24:35). Next, this word is used in" "connection with the purchase of the cave of Machpelah (23:16)," and again in connection with Jacob's purchase of a field at "Shalem (Gen. 33:18, 19) for "an hundred pieces of money"=an" "hundred Hebrew kesitahs (q.v.), i.e., probably pieces of money," "as is supposed, bearing the figure of a lamb." "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." "Of the use of coined money we have no early notice among the "Hebrews. The first mentioned is of Persian coinage, the daric" (Ezra 2:69; Neh. 7:70) and the `adarkon (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. "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.

(Matt. 21:12; Mark 11:15; John 2:15). Every Israelite from twenty years and upwards had to pay (Ex. 30:13-15) into the sacred treasury half a shekel every year as an offering to "Jehovah, and that in the exact Hebrew half-shekel piece. There" "was a class of men, who frequented the temple courts, who" exchanged at a certain premium foreign moneys for these half-shekels to the Jews who came up to Jerusalem from all parts of the world. (See [416]PASSOVER.) When our Lord drove the "traffickers out of the temple, these money-changers fared worst." Their tables were overturned and they themselves were expelled.