Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MONEY

The means for exchange of goods and services. It functions as a reflex of economic intercourse, measuring relative worth, and facilitating the transaction of commodities. Coinage is the minted form of money, standardized and sanctioned by a government agency to benefit economic cooperation. A discussion of money in the Bible is the systematic treatment of the complex of biblical references to commodities of exchange.

The precursors to coinage were barter, precious metals, weights, and measures. In the biblical text metal ingots and jewelry were used as payment (Josh. 7:21; Gen. 33:19). Gold and silver were measured in various denominations. The terms for the various weights include the talent, mina, shekel, pim, bekah, and gerah. There is a great degree of continuity between practices reflected in the Bible and those of the wider ancient Near East.

References to money occur in every historical period and literary genre of the Bible. In the ancestral period, there are the transactions of Abraham (Gen. 23:15-16) and the mortgage policies of Joseph in Egypt (47:14-26). In the monarchical period, there is the royal economy of Solomon (1 Kgs. 9:10-28; 10:14-29). The legal codes contain significant data concerning money, usually in connection with tithes and offerings (e.g., Deut. 14:25; cf. Exod. 30:16; Num. 18:29), slaves (Exod. 21:21), restitution for damages (21:32), or the charging of interest (22:25[MT 24]). The prophets denounce fraudulent business practices (Hos. 12:7; Amos 8:5; Mic. 6:11) and economic oppression (Amos 2:6; 8:6).

Preexilic Hebrew inscriptions contain references to the precious metals, and ingots and jars of jewelry have been attested archaeologically. An ostracon found at Tell Qasile, dating to the time of Hezekiah (715-687 b.c.e.), demonstrates the import of gold. Two ostraca from Arad and one from Yavneh-yam refer to weighed quantities of silver, the denomination being the shekel. Hoards from this period (at Gaza, Shechem, Megiddo, Beth-shan, Beth-shemesh, and En-gedi) suggest that precious metal was becoming recognized for its transactional value and that the movement toward coinage was underway. The preexilic lmlk and rosette stamps, official seal impressions found on jar handles of storage pottery, constitute a precedent for the royal sanction of goods and measures. The value of money, however, was regulated by market forces and the differential was configured in weight. References to the “weights current among the merchants” (Gen. 23:16), “the royal weight” (2 Sam. 14:26), and “the shekel of the sanctuary” (Exod. 30:13) suggest that various standards were simultaneously in effect.

According to Herodotus, coinage originated in Asia Minor in the second half of the 7th century. Subsequently, many Greek cities issued coins, although the Athenian coins achieved widest circulation. The Persian imperial mints found only limited distribution, other than the gold daric issued by the Persian king Darius I ca. 515. Trade with the Phoenicians and Greeks introduced coinage into Palestine. Imported Greek silver coins predominated together with Athenian tetradrachma imitations from the Phoenician cities of Arvad, Byblos, Sidon, and Tyre. Some coins were produced and circulated by local mints, including Gaza, Samaria, Ashdod, Askelon, and Jerusalem. These coins are often designated as “Philisto-Arabian” or simply “Palestinian.” They followed the Athenian standard and were exclusively silver. In addition, provincial coins with the appellation “Yehud” were in circulation from ca. 400 on into the Ptolemaic period. These were struck by the governor of the Yehud province, as is evident in another group of coins with the legend “Yehezqiyah the governor.” The iconographic design of these coins imitates the Attic tradition, showing the head of the goddess Athena on the obverse and the symbol of an owl, later the lily and the falcon, together with the legend on the reverse. One Yehud coin from this era bears the representation of an enthroned deity, perhaps Yahweh, though this is debated. The impression of the enthroned deity, together with that of the goddess Athena, suggests that at this time the Jewish minting authorities had few scruples with the iconographic representation of deities. Contemporaneous with the Yehud coins of Yehezqiyah, sometime during the second half of the 4th century, are coins from Samaria bearing the legend “Jeroboam.” This is likely a Samaritan governor, who assumed a name reminiscent of the northern Israelite dynasty.

Ezra and Nehemiah contain many references to money, but it is difficult to determine whether this is coinage or bullion. For the rebuilding of the temple, still during the time of Cyrus, “sixty-one thousand darics of gold, five thousand minas of silver” were donated (Ezra 2:69; cf. Neh. 7:70-71). Payments in money were made to members of guilds (Ezra 3:7). The governors of Yehud implemented a tax structure which included “shekels of silver” (Neh. 5:15; 10:32[33]). The citizens of Yehud mortgaged their property and possessions in exchange for money to pay the royal tax (Neh. 5:4, 10-11). Whether the references be to coinage or bullion, Ezra and Nehemiah suggest bustling economic activity.

The study of the relationship between the provenance of coins and their topographical distribution points to the extent and vitality of trade in Palestine during the 4th century. Economic build-up, i.e., vibrant industry and trade, has been ascertained in coastal settlements such as Achzib, Acco, Shiqmona, Dor, Jaffa, Ashdod, Askelon, and Yavneh. It is also archaeologically evident that the hinterland enjoyed benefits from coastal economic gain. Inscriptional documents from outside of Palestine, such as the Elephantine papyri, the Persepolis tablets, and the Murashu documents, indicate the democratized use of coinage for this period.

Subsequent to Alexander’s conquests, the Athenian standard of coinage all but eliminated local mints. Alexander chartered the principal mints in Acco, Aradus, and Sidon, and his imperial coinage continued unchanged even during the political struggle in the aftermath of his death. This alignment of coinage seems to have continued the existing tenor of social-economic development. After 312 Palestine continued primarily under Ptolemaic control. The Ptolemies practiced an isolationalist economic policy in Egypt and throughout their territory. The silver tetradrachmas were minted at Sidon, Tyre, Acco (renamed Ptolemais), Joppa, and Gaza, and bore the legend “of Ptolemy the King (or the Savior).” Local Yehud coinage was again minted during this period, probably during the reign of Ptolemy II (ca. 285-270). Iconographically, the coins usually bear the representation of the Ptolemaic ruler on the obverse and either an eagle or a dove on the reverse. It is suggestive that some coins have eliminated symbols of deification on the representation of the ruler, and should perhaps be understood as evidence of aniconism. The Zenon archive and the Letter of Aristeas illumine the effects of the development of coinage in Ptolemaic Egypt and Palestine. The Wisdom of Solomon (Wis. 15:12), Sirach (Sir. 7:18; 18:33; 21:8; 29:5-6; 31:5; 51:28), and Tobit (Tob. 1:7; 2:11; 5:19), all from the Ptolemaic period, refer to coinage.

After 198, under the Seleucid rulers, both silver and bronze coins were in circulation in Palestine. Antiochus IV, known for his religious imperialism, propagated the Zeus cult on his coins together with a deified image of himself. The Jewish state which emerged under Hasmonean leadership issued an independent, predominately bronze mintage to supplement the larger denominations in circulation. Though 1 Macc. 15:6 intimates that Antiochus VII permitted Simon the priest to mint coins, it appears that Antiochus reversed this and other allowances (v. 27). Instead, Simon’s son John Hyrcanus I (135-104) minted a series of coins, one of which bears what was to be the official Hasmonean emblem, two cornucopias with a pomegranate. The legend reads “Yehonan the high priest and the Council of the Jews.” His son Alexander Janneus (103-76) used the self-designation “Jonathan the king” on his coins. Later, for unknown reasons, many of these coins were restruck with the designation “Jonathan the high priest and the Council of the Jews.” After Alexander Janneus, coins are attested from the time of John Hyrcanus II (67-64) and Mattathias Antigonus (40-37).

After his triumph over Antigonus in 37 b.c.e., Herod I began a bronze mintage bearing his name and the title “king.” His successors continued minting bronze coins until the end of the Herodian dynasty in Agrippa II (95 c.e.). Various Roman procurators over Palestine (6-59 c.e.), such as Pontius Pilate, issued bronze coins as well. The silver coins in circulation during this time were the shekel from Tyre and the Roman tetradrachma and denarius (the rough equivalent to the Greek drachma), minted in Rome, Tyre, Antioch, and Nabatea.

This is the setting for the NT Gospels. The coin presented to Jesus for the Roman tax (Matt. 22:19; Mark 12:15; Luke 20:24) was likely a Tyrian denarius. The imperial image on the obverse of the denarius was standard from Augustus on. The denarius was valued at about a day’s labor (cf. Matt. 20:21). The temple tax of Matt. 17:24 is referred to as a didrachma, which is equal to half a shekel. The Gospels give evidence of both trade in kind and trade in money. Tenants leased the vineyard for a percentage of the harvest (Luke 16:6-7; 20:10). Tithes could be paid in kind (Luke 16:6). Sizable transactions were made in the denomination of the talent (Matt. 18:24; 25:14-28) or the mina (Luke 19:13-25). The debtor of Jesus’ parable owed alternatively 10 thousand talents (Matt. 18:24) or 500 denarii (Luke 7:41). The smaller denominations, the chalkos, lepton, assarion, and quadrans, were used in more daily affairs, for which a purse would be carried (Luke 22:36). Monetary exchange was required to accommodate the variety of coinage, not in the least for cultic and sacerdotal purposes (Matt. 21:12; Mark 11:15-18; John 2:14). Luke judges the Pharisees to be “lovers of money” (Luke 16:14).

The Gospels portray Jesus’ attitude toward money and riches as ranging from critical to indifferent. On the one hand, he demonized wealth (Luke 16:13) and called for the renunciation of possessions (Mark 10:21; Luke 9:3). On the other hand, he accepted support from wealthy devotees (Luke 8:2-3) and kept company with the well-to-do (Matt. 11:19). In some cases, the early Church practiced a certain communalism (Acts 4:32) and programmatically distributed to those who were economically vulnerable (6:1-6). The early Christians in the urban centers were comprised of persons of all social strata (e.g., 1 Cor. 11:22). Paul too recommends that property be regarded as relative (1 Cor. 7:30-31), and initiates collections for the rural poor in and around Jerusalem (Rom. 15:26; 1 Cor. 16:2; Acts 11:30).

During the First Jewish Revolt (66-70 c.e.), both silver and bronze coinage were minted in Jerusalem. Coinage was often minted to fund an army. The iconography of the coins was comprised of vegetation and cultic paraphernalia, and was paired with nationalistic or religious slogans. After 70, the silver tetradrachma from Tyre and Antioch became the standard coin, supplemented by bronze coins minted in Neapolis and Sebaste. Special coins commemorating the defeat of Judea were issued by the Romans. During the Second Revolt led by Simon bar Kokhba (132-135), silver tetradrachmas and denarii were overstruck with slogans referring to the leader, the city of Jerusalem, or simply “the freedom of Israel.”

Bibliography. D. V. Edelman, “Tracking Observance of the Aniconic Tradition Through Numismatics,” in The Triumph of Elohim (Grand Rapids, 1995), 185-225; A. Kindler, ed., The Patterns of Monetary Development in Phoenicia and Palestine in Antiquity (Tel Aviv, 1967); Y. Meshorer, Ancient Jewish Coinage, 2 vols. (Dix Hills, N.Y., 1982); “Ancient Jewish Coinage: Addendum I,” Israel Numismatic Journal 11 (1990-91): 104-32; M. Rostovtzeff, The Social and Economic History of the Hellenistic World, 2nd ed. 2 vols. (Oxford, 1957).

Gerald M. Bilkes

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MONEY

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)