Money: Of uncoined money the first notice we have is in the history of
Abraham
(Genesis 13:2; 20:16; 24:35) Next, this word is used in connection
with the purchase of the cave of Machpelah
(Genesis 23:16) and again in
connection with Jacob's purchase of a field at Shalem
(Genesis 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; Nehemiah 7:70) and the
'adarkon
(Ezra 8:27) (dram) 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.
