MEASURES, WEIGHTS, AND MONEY

Measures. Weights. Inscribed Weights. Money: Who invented coinage? Darics. MaccabÆan coins. AsmonÆan coins. Herodian coins. Roman coins. The Widow’s Mite. The Piece of Silver. Coinage of the Revolt of 66-70 A. D.

1. Measures.—The Hebrew units of dry measure were: 1. The Homer (or Cor), which contained 10 Ephahs (Ezek. 45:11, 14). 2. The Ephah, which contained 3 Seahs (Isa. 40:12) or 10 Omers (Exod. 16:36) or 18 Cabs (2 Kings 6:25, and Josephus, Antiquities, IX, iv, 4).

Corresponding to these were the units of liquid measure: 1. The Homer (or Cor), which contained 10 Baths (Ezek. 45:11, 14). 2. The Bath, which, according to Josephus and Jerome, contained 6 Hins (see Exod. 29:40). 3. The Hin, which contained 3 Cabs, or, according to the Talmud, 12 Logs.

These two systems have the Homer as their major unit. The Homer had the same capacity in each system. The Ephah of dry measure equalled the Bath of liquid measure, and the Cab was the same in each. If, then, the capacity of one unit in either measure could be determined, we should know the capacity of all the others.

It has been the custom of archÆologists to strike a kind of average of the confused statements of Josephus and Epiphanius[178] and correct these by estimates based on Babylonian measures.

Calculations based on this method will be found in recent works on Hebrew archÆology and dictionaries of the Bible. It has been impossible, however, to reach certainty. Three systems will be found in the books referred to: one based on the supposition that the Log = ⁹/10 of a pint; one based on the supposition that the Log = ⁹¹/100 of a pint; the third on the supposition that the Log = 1 pint. The estimates of the Homer vary accordingly from 80 gallons to 81.25 gallons, and 89.28 gallons.[179]Under these circumstances some discoveries of the Augustinians of the Assumption, in the grounds of their monastery in Jerusalem, appear to be of importance.[180] They found at various times in excavating for building purposes four vessels, which seem to have been a series of measures. Taking the larger one as the unit, the capacity of the one next smaller is three-quarters of the capacity of the first; the third was just half the first; the fourth, a quarter of it. These vessels all appear to have been in a building which had a Hebrew inscription over its door. Although the inscription was broken, the word “Corban”[181] was still legible. PÈre Germer-Durand assumes, accordingly, that the building was used as a place where temple tithes were paid, and that this series of vessels were standard measures employed in collecting tithes. The quantities of material contained by these vessels are as follows:

PÈre Germer-Durand thinks from a study of Josephus and Epiphanius that the largest of his vessels represents the Ephah of dry measure or the Bath of liquid measure. If this assumption is right, it gives a series of measures which are each about ⁷/12 smaller than the smallest of the series referred to above.

On this basis Hebrew dry measures become:

Liquid measure becomes:

It is not certain that the vessels found by the Augustinians represent the measures that Germer-Durand supposes, but it is as likely that they do as that the confused statements of Josephus and Epiphanius afford an accurate basis for calculations.

It is probable that in actual business there was in ancient times a great deal of variation allowed from the ordinary standard of measures. We know of no rigid regulation of the matter by a central authority.

2. Weights.—The two weights most often mentioned in the Bible are the talent and the shekel. The Bible nowhere tells us of how many shekels a talent was composed. In Babylonia the talent consisted of 60 manas,[182] and each mana of 60 shekels, so that the talent consisted of 3600 shekels. The Phoenicians divided the mana into 50 shekels, and it is thought by scholars that the Hebrews did the same, though we have no positive evidence on the point. Manas are not mentioned in the Bible, unless in Dan. 5:25.[183]

In the course of the excavations by Bliss in the Shephelah a number of weights were found, some of which were inscribed. Macalister also found a large number of weights at Gezer, a few of which bore inscriptions. Some others have been found by natives and purchased by travelers. The writer had the pleasure of discovering two weights in this way.

3. Inscribed Weights.—These inscribed weights are of the greatest interest to the students of the Bible. Five weights are known that are inscribed in old Hebrew characters with the word neseph, “half”; see Fig. 186. These are undoubtedly half-shekels. Two of the three are broken, and one is perforated. The other two weigh, respectively, 157.56 grains and 153.6 grains. The average of these is 155.5 grains, which would make the shekel 311 grains.

Another weight, said to have come from Samaria, was described some years ago by Dr. Chaplin. It bears the inscription roba neseph, “the quarter of a half,” and weighs 39.2 grains. Another weight from Samaria is in the possession of Mr. Herbert Clark, of Jerusalem. It is made in the form of a turtle and bears the inscription homesh, “a fifth,” and weighs 38.58 grains. Probably it was intended as the fifth part of a shekel.Another series of inscribed weights, of which three examples are known, bears the inscription beqa. The word comes from a root that means “cleave” or “split.” This word occurs twice in the Old Testament, in Gen. 24:22 and Exod. 38:26. In the passage last mentioned it is defined as half a shekel; (see Fig. 188).

A third variety of weight bears the inscription payim. The first of these to be discovered was found by the writer in the hands of a dealer in Jerusalem. On one side it bore the word payim and on the other lezekaryahu yaer, “belonging to Zechariah son of Jaer.” This weight is cubic in form (see Fig. 187) and weighs 117.431 grains.[184] Macalister found another of similar shape, which bore only the inscription payim. It weighed 114.81 grains. The word payim is very puzzling. It has been interpreted by Clermont-Ganneau as meaning “two-thirds,” and as designating two-thirds of a shekel. Possibly this is right. This weight is mentioned in 1 Sam. 13:20, 21, and its discovery has explained a Hebrew phrase which has puzzled all translators. We now know that these verses should be rendered: “But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his plowshare, and his axe, and his adze, and his hoe, and the price was a pim (or payim) for the plowshares, and for the axes, and for the three-tined forks, and for the adzes, and for the setting of the goads.” The name of the weight here expresses the price, just as shekel, the name of another weight, does elsewhere.[185] One bronze weight found at Gezer bore words meaning “belonging to the king,” but it is not clear to what king it referred.

A glance at the weights here described makes it evident that the standards of the ancient Hebrews were not exact. If these are representative weights, the shekel must have varied from 200 to more than 300 grains Troy. This is what one acquainted with the Palestine of today would expect. The peasants still use field-stone as weights, selecting one that is approximately of the weight they desire. Even among the merchants of modern Jerusalem, where one would expect more exact standards than among the peasantry, odd scraps of old iron are used for weights.[186]

A large number of uninscribed weights of the same general size and shape of those described[187] were found at Gezer. Whether larger weights or multiples of a shekel were discovered is uncertain. A number of stones might have been used for weights, but they were not inscribed and may have been used for other purposes. A large bronze weight found at Tell Sandahanna is just sixty times the weight of a 311-grain shekel, and may be a mana.[188]

Where weights and measures differed so, the words of Amos (8:5), “making the ephah small and the shekel great,” gain an added significance, and we understand why the wise man denounced “false balances” (Prov. 11:1; 20:23). Indeed, of the weights found at Gezer so many were under the average standard, and so many above it, that the inference lay close at hand that many men had one set of weights by which to purchase and another set by which to sell.[189]

4. Money.—Down to the seventh century before Christ money was not coined. Whenever it was employed as a medium of exchange, it was weighed. In western Asia and Egypt our sources show that in the period from 1500 to 1300 B. C. gold and silver were prepared for commercial use by being formed into rings.[190] These rings were of no standard weight; they were weighed in the mass by scales. Probably the rings were small, so that the weight could, at the will of the merchant, be increased by very slight amounts. The ring-form was probably selected because this shape would present no corners that would rapidly wear away. This type of commercial ring can be traced in the inscriptions of Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria,[191] 884-860 B. C. It was used, then, in Egypt, Syria, Phoenicia, by the Hittites, the AramÆans, and the Assyrians.

(1) Who Invented Coinage?—The oldest coins yet found were made by the Lydians, and on this account it is usually said that the Lydians were the first to coin money. The date of these coins is uncertain. They bear the name of no king, but are usually assigned to the seventh century B. C. Mr. Head, of the British Museum, dated them tentatively at 700 B. C. They probably were made under the Lydian dynasty founded by Gyges in 697 B. C., the last king of which, the famous Croesus, was overthrown by Cyrus the Great, in 546 B. C. It is improbable that these coins were invented earlier than the reign of Gyges, and they may not have been put into circulation until he had been some years on the throne. It is recognized that the weight of these coins conforms to a Babylonian standard.

There seems to be evidence that coined money was employed by the Assyrians in the reign of Esarhaddon. None of the coins have been found, but a series of loans and payments, dated in the years 676-671 B. C., designate the amounts of money in “shekels of silver-heads of Ishtar.”[192] As has been noted by Menant and Johns, this can hardly mean anything else than silver made into coins of the value of a shekel and stamped with the head of Ishtar. As Gyges was a contemporary of Esarhaddon, it seems probable that Lydia borrowed the idea of coinage from the Mesopotamian Valley.

Be this as it may, the coinage of money was a great step forward. To have the value of a piece of metal determined beforehand and guaranteed by an official stamp greatly facilitated the transaction of business. It eliminated the delays incident to weighing the metal, and the disputes that were sure to ensue as to the correctness of the weights which were put into the balances.

(2) Darics.—The invention of coined money first affected Palestine during the Persian period. Darius I of Persia, 521-486 B. C., organized the coinage of that realm. The gold coins issued by him were of the weight of a Babylonian shekel. They weighed from 125 to 130 grains Troy. One in the British Museum weighs 129 grains. They bore on the face a picture of Darius with a bow to the left; (see Fig. 189). Because of this picture they were called “darics,” just as the French 20-franc piece is called a “napoleon.” The daric is mentioned in several Biblical books that were written after the beginning of the Persian period. (See 1 Chron. 29:7; Ezra 2:69; 8:27; Neh. 7:70-72.) It is wrongly translated “dram” in the Authorized Version.

After the Persian period the coinage of all the nations to whom the Jews became subject circulated in turn in Palestine. Foreign coins also found their way into the country. Many of these ultimately were lost and buried in the soil, so that many, many coins have been brought to light by archÆological research. We have space here to mention only those that are of the greatest interest to students of the Bible.

Palestine passed under the sway of Alexander the Great in 332 B. C., and after his death in 323 it was attached to the territory of Ptolemy Lagi of Egypt and his successors. In 199 B. C. Antiochus III wrested it from the Ptolemies and the Jews passed under the sway of the Syrians. During this time the coins of these rulers circulated in the country and are still frequently dug up there, although they are not mentioned in the Bible. Samples of these coins are shown in Figs. 190, 195. Not until the Jews had gained their independence under Simon the Maccabee, in the year 143 B. C., did they issue any coinage of their own. Indeed, it now seems clear that no coins were issued by Simon until after the year 139-138 B. C., when the Syrian king by an especial grant accorded him that liberty. The coins then issued appear to have been made of bronze only.[193] A silver coinage formerly attributed to Simon the Maccabee is now regarded as belonging to the time of the Jewish revolt of 66-70 A. D.

(3) MaccabÆan Coins.—The coins of Simon consist of bronze half-shekels and quarter-shekels all dated in the year four. Antiochus VII of Syria apparently prevented the issue of others during the reign of Simon. His coins bear on their face the picture of a citron between two bundles of twigs. Around the border runs the inscription in old Hebrew characters, “year four; one-half.” On the other side is a palm-tree with two bunches of fruit between two baskets filled with fruits, and around the border runs the inscription, “belonging to the redemption of Zion;” (see Fig. 192). The weights of these coins vary from 232.6 to 237 grains. The lighter ones are considerably worn.

The quarter-shekels have on one side two bundles of twigs, around which run the words, “year four; one-fourth.” On the other side is pictured a citron with the stalk upward, around which runs the inscription, “belonging to the redemption of Zion.” The weights of the known coins of this denomination vary from 113.7 to 192.3 grains. The form of the letters on these coins shows that they are older than other Jewish coins.

(4) AsmonÆan Coins.—There are many coins from the reign of John Hyrcanus, the son and successor of Simon, but they are all of copper; (see Fig. 193). They bear on their face the inscription: “Johanan, the high priest and the congregation of the Jews”; on the reverse is a poppy head between two cornucopias. Similar coins were issued by the other AsmonÆan princes.

(5) Herodian Coins.—As Herod the Great was a vassal of Rome, he was permitted to issue copper coins only. These exist in considerable variety. Figure 198 shows one, the face of which is stamped with the image of a vessel with a bell-shaped cover, above which are two palm-branches; on the reverse the words meaning “of King Herod” run around the edge, while a tripod occupies the center. At the left of the tripod is an abbreviation for “year 3”; at the right is a monogram. Several other patterns are known.

Coins of ArchÆlaus, Antipas, Herod Philip (Matt. 14:3; Mark 6:17; Luke 3:19), and of Herod Agrippa I are known. One is shown in Fig. 200.

(6) Roman Coins.—The most common silver Roman coin was the denarius, rendered in the Authorized Version “penny” and in the Revised Version “shilling.” Its weight varied at different times. In the time of Christ it weighed about 61.3 grains Troy, and was worth 16? cents of American money. As the ministry of Christ occurred in the reign of Tiberius, the tribute money shown to Christ (Matt. 22:19; Mark 12:15-17) was probably a denarius of Tiberius, such as is shown in Fig. 196. The denarius was so named because it originally was equivalent to ten asses or small copper coins, but the as was afterward reduced to ¹/16 of the denarius. The as is mentioned in Matt. 10:29; Luke 12:6, where A. V. renders it “farthing” and R. V. “penny.” It was worth about a cent. The Roman coin quadrans, or the fourth part of an as, worth about ¼ of a cent, is mentioned in Matt. 5:26; Mark 12:42. It is translated “farthing”; (see Fig. 199).

(7) The Widow’s Mite.—Another coin, translated “mite,” is in Greek lepton, “the small one” or the “bit.” It was two of these that the widow cast into the treasury, Mark 12:42,[194] where it is said that two of them equaled a quadrans. The “mite” was, then, of the value of ? of a cent. It was doubtless the smallest coin in circulation, but it has not yet been identified with certainty with any coin that archÆology has discovered.

(8) The Piece of Silver.—In Luke 15:8 the Greek drachma is mentioned. It is translated “piece of silver.” The drachma corresponded roughly in value to the denarius. Drachmas had been issued by many different cities and many different kings, and were still in circulation in Palestine in the time of Christ. One still sees in that country today coins of the first Napoleon, and of many other sovereigns who have been long dead, passing from hand to hand as media of value; (see Fig. 194).

(9) Coinage of the Revolt of 66-70 A. D.—Two silver coins, a shekel and a half-shekel (see Fig. 201), were formerly attributed to Simon the Maccabee. The shekels weigh 212.3 to 217.9 grains and bear on their face above a cup or chalice the legend “shekel of Israel” and a numeral. The numeral stands for the first year. Examples are known which carry the enumeration up to the year “five.” On the reverse a triple lily is pictured, and in similar Hebrew characters the words “Jerusalem, the holy” are inscribed. The half-shekel is smaller and has the same markings except that the legend on its face is simply “half-shekel.” On the coins issued after the first year a Hebrew sh precedes the number of the year. The sh is an abbreviation of the Hebrew word shana, year. For various reasons the consensus of expert opinion now is that these coins were issued during the Jewish war of 66-70 A. D., which, according to Jewish reckoning, extended into the fifth year.

Coins of the Roman Emperors, Augustus and Claudius, are shown in Figs. 195, 197.