Coin: Before the Exile the Jews had no regularly stamped money. They made
use of uncoined shekels or talents of silver, which they weighed out
(Genesis 23:16; Exodus 38:24; 2 Samuel 18:12) Probably the silver ingots used in the
time of Abraham may have been of a fixed weight, which was in some
way indicated on them. The "pieces of silver" paid by Abimelech to
Abraham
(Genesis 20:16) and those also for which Joseph was sold
(Genesis 37:28)
were proably in the form of rings. The shekel was the common standard
of weight and value among the Hebrews down to the time of the
Captivity. Only once is a shekel of gold mentioned
(1 Chronicles 21:25) The
"six thousand of gold" mentioned in the transaction between Naaman
and Gehazi
(2 Kings 5:5) were probably so many shekels of gold. The "piece
of money" mentioned in
(Job 42:11; Genesis 33:19) (marg., "lambs") was the
Hebrew kesitah, probably an uncoined piece of silver of a certain
weight in the form of a sheep or lamb, or perhaps having on it such
an impression. The same Hebrew word is used in
(Joshua 24:32) which is
rendered by Wickliffe "an hundred yonge scheep."
