The Moneyof the BibleUC-NRLFB3 flTflEOMGeorgeC IVOORSANGER COLLECTIONOFTHESEMITIC LIBRARYOF THEUniversityofCaliforniaGIFT OFREV.JACOBVOORSANGER,D.D.1906\)^^-^v-^-^^^^^^-^i^^'^/-THE MONEYOFTHE BIBLEy^ShekelSimonSar-CochabaSg-^atSs of Mb\t lEtnotoleirgtXXTHEMONEY OFTHE BIBLEILLUSTRATEDBYNUMEROUS WOODCUTSANDFACSIMILEREPRESENTATIONSGEORGE C. WILLIAMSOND.LIT., MEMB. NUM. SOC. LOND., ETC.AUTHOR OF 'TRADE TOKENS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY,' ETC.> .*,'FLEMING H. REVELLCOMPANYNEWYORKICHICAGO112 Fifth Avenuei 148&150Madison StreetThe Religious TradSociety^ LondonL),T-v^Y~INTRODUCTIONThis little book does not claim to be anythingmore than a hand-bookfor the Bible student. It isintended to supply a want which has been broughtoftenand practically to mynotice.Theworkson BiblicalNumismaticsorJewishcoinsare exhaustive,but are costly,and in manyinstancesrare. They are usually written for those alreadylearned inthescience, and are full oftechnical infor-mation. Theyare frequentlyin foreign tongues,andaboundingin referencesgiven in theoriginal Hebrew,Greek, and Latin. Forthese andother reasons theworks to which I referareof little value to any butadvanced students.Necessarilythisbook has been acompilationfromthestandard worksonthesubject,andit is adigestofwhathasbeendecidedby thosebestqualifiedto speakonthisinterestingbranchofscience. Nopains havebeensparedtoconsultthebestandthelatest author-ities, and every work that is known to me on the6 INTRODUCTIONsubjecthasreceived careful attention. Inmanycasesextracts have been made from the writings of thosewho have made Jewish currency a Hfe study, andafull andgrateful acknowledgementisgiven,especiallyof my indebtedness to the works of Madden anddeSaulcy. WithoutMadden'scostlyworksnostudentcanevenpretendtostudythesubject,andhiswritingshavebeenlaidunderheavycontribution,astheworksof the greatest authority. Alist is appendedof thechiefbooks that have been consulted, for the useofsuchreadersasmaydesire a fuller knowledge ofthesubject, and to give it a deeper investigation. Thethirdbookin the listcanberecommendedasthegreatworkonthesubject.I have written this treatise in easy language, andperhaps even over-explained myself, beside trans-latingeveryreferencegiven in theoriginal. Itseemednecessaryin mostcasesto givethe original, asanaidto the morehighlyeducated reader; butthebookismainly written for popular use and commended topopularattention.G. C.W.CONTENTSPAGEIntroduction5ListofAuthorities9List of Illustrations 11Chap. I. UncoinedMoneyoftheOldTestament .13II. Coined Money of the Old Testament .25III. Coined Moneyofthetime ofthe Apocrypha,WITHpedigreeofTHEAsMON^ANDyNASTY.3IIV. New TestamentMoney. CoinsoftheHerods43V. The Coins actually named in the NewTestament58VI. CoinsillustrativeofBibleStory . . 80Index95ListofScriptureReferences96LIST OF AUTHORITIESGreek Testament,DeanAlford.HistoryofJexvish Coinage.F.W.Madden.Coinsofthe Jews.F.W.Madden.Recherchessurlanumismatiquejuda^ique.F.deSaulcy.BiblischeNumismatik.AbbCavedoni.DissertationesNumismatum.Spanheim.GeschichtederjUdischenMiinzen.Levy.NumismaticaBiblica.Cavedoni.Nuovistxidisopra le anticheMonete giudaiche.Cavedoni.NumistnaticIllustrations.Akerman.Numismatiquedela TerreSainte.F.DESaulcy.DeNumisHebrceo-Samaritanis.Bayer.DictionaryoftheBible(Art.*Money').Poole.LifeofSt. Paul.Cqnybeare.SundaySchool Teachers' Dictionary.KiTTO.BiblicalCyclopaedia.Eadie.Numerous papers and articles on the subject in the Nui?iis-matic Chronicle andJournal, Revue Nu7nis?natique, NumisinatischeZeitschrift, Melanges de Numismatique, Berliner Philologische Wo-chenschrift, ZeitschriftfurNumisjnatik.ILLUSTRATIONSEgyptianweighingmoneyEgyptianringmoney .Golddaric .ShekelofthetimeofEzraTetradrachmof AlexanderTetradrachmofSeleucusINicatorTetradrachmofAntiochusEuergetesHalfShekel (copper) of SimonMaccabseusSixthofShekel (copper) ofSimonMaccabseusCoinof JohnHyrcanus.Coinof JudasAristobulusCoinofAlexanderJanneeusCoinofAlexanderJanngeus (withtitle ofking)CoinofHerodI (Year3 = B.C.37)Coinof ArchelausCoinofHerodAntipas (Year33=A.D.29)CoinofHerodPhilip H(Year37 =a.d.33)CoinofHerodAgrippaI (Year6=:A.d.37)Coinof HerodAgrippaI (as Ceesar's friend)Coinof HerodAgrippaII . . .CoinofProcuratorCoponius.Coinof ProcuratorAnniusRufus(Year4I=a.d. iCoinofPontiusPilate .StaterofAugustus4)PAGE15162628323233353640414142444648495252535555566112 ILLUSTRATIONSPAGEStaterofRhodes,withflowers . 62CoinofAlexanderJannseus65CoinofAugustus .67CoinofGadara 68CoinofJuba,Kingof Numidia 68DenariusorPenny70CoinrepresentingApollowith the title ofSaviour , .-73CoinsofEleazarthePriest 80Coinofthe FirstYearoftheRevolt 81Coinsof SimonNasiofthe FirstYearoftheRevolt . . .82Coinof Simonof theSecondYearoftheRevolt (Year67-68) . 82Coinof Simonof theThirdYearoftheRevolt(Year68-69). 83ObversesofthreeCoinsofVespasian84CoinsoftheSecondRevolt85,86CopperCoinofHadrian ........86PhrygianCoin87TyrianCoins 88PhoenicianCoin(enlarged)89CoinofAntoninusPius89EphesianCoin90EphesianCharm ..........91Coinof Cyprus91Medalsusedat IsthmianGames .92Coinof PtolemyPhiladelphus93PrimitiveSymbolicalCross94TheLabarum94THE MONEYOFTHE BIBLECHAPTER IUNCOINEDMONEYOF THE OLD TESTAMENTIn considering the money of the Bible it is im-portant in the first place to draw a broad line ofdistinction between uncoinedandcoined money,andit will beseen that, with one or two possible excep-tions, themoneyoftheOldTestamentfalls underthefirst oftheseheads. It willbefound,however,asthesubject is pursued,that for the piece of moneytobeuncoined does not necessarily imply that it has nota distinctive and special value, as weighed pieces ofsilverwere of frequentandwell-recognized usein theearlytimeswithwhichthe Biblehastodo.In the Book ofJob(xlii. ii) we have what isperhapstheearliestreferencein theBibleto currency,each of his friends giving him when visiting him14THE MONEY OF THE BIBLEa piece of money(or silver) and an ear-ring of gold.Theword used for piece of moneyin this passage iskesitah(nn^'^p).This word occurs three times in theOld Testament ; in the above passage inJob,in thereference to thepurchase ofapiece ofland byJacobat Shechem for onehundredpieces (Gen.xxxiii.19),and in Joshuaxxiv.32,wherethesame piece of landis again mentioned. It literally means 'a portion,'and refers in all probability to a piece of roughmetal,broken off, but probably having a knownandrecognized value by weight.The ear-ring of gold gives a further allusion tothe use of pieces ofmetal of known and recognizedweight,either for purchasing or, until so required,asornaments. The Septuagint version of the Biblemore accuratelytranslates this phrase a tetradrachmofuncoinedgold {r^TpahpayjtXOVxpvaov kol acrniovyIt is clear, as all the friends of the patriarchJobgavehimthe samegift, and that in conjunction witha pieceof silver, that the ear-ring was representativeof certain value, and it is equally evident thatJobused his gifts in the purchase of cattle, as we readin thenext verse that he was possessedofthousandsofanimals.Similar instances of the use of ornaments of gold,both as decoration and also as representative ofwealth,are to be found in the OldTestament. TheMidianites (Num. xxxi.50, 51)carried their wealthwith them in the form ofchains, bracelets, ear-rings,UNCOINED MONEY OF THE OLDTESTAMENT 15and tablets, and the Israelites on leaving Egyptspoiled the Egyptians ofjewels of silver and jewelsof gold,obtainingthe wagesfortheirlong andarduouslabourinthis way(Exod.xii.^^, ^6).Theseornamentsprobablyhadadistinctiveweight,whichwas known and possibly stamped upon them.Theservant of Abrahamgaveto Rebekah'agoldenear-ring of half a shekel weight, and two braceletsEGYPTIAN WEIGHING MONEY.for her hands often shekels weight of gold ' (Gen.xxiv.22).The ancient Egyptians are represented in con-temporarypaintings asweighing ringsof metal, gold,andwhite gold (i. e. silver), and of keeping by themvessels containing piles of such weighed rings, eachhaving, in all probability, its own distinctive value.The illustrations are from Sir Gardner Wilkinson'si6 THE MONEYOF THE BIBLEworkontheAncientEgyptians, vol.ii.p. 149,andarefromdrawingsmadein thetombs.The money used by the children of Israel whentheywent to purchase corn in Egyptmayhavebeenof this ring shape, resembling the bronze rings forarms and ankles still occasionallyfound in the bogsof Irelandandthose used byuncivilized tribes in theSouth Seas. The Israelitish money is spoken of as*bundles of money' (Gen. xlii.^t^^and a similarEGYPTIAN RING MONEY.phraseoccursin theBookof Deuteronomy (Deut. xiv.24-26), where the payment of tithe is permitted inmoney instead of kind, when distance prevents thejourneying offlocks. Thepassage states, 'thenshallthouturnit intomoney,andbindupthe moneyinthinehand;' andthisimpliestheuseofringmoney,oratallevents of money in pieces that could be tied orfastened together.UNCOINED MONEYOF THE OLD TESTAMENT 17This use of ring money, and its kindred one ofornament for the person, representing material andavailable wealth, is spread through many Orientalnations,andin places still holds its own.Nubia is one of the countries inwhich ornamentalring money is still used, and in the cabinets of theNumismatic Society may be seen some interestingspecimens of Nubian ring money presented to theSocietybythelateJosephBonomi.Amongstnomadic tribes especially,importancehasalwaysbeenattachedtothevisibility andportabilityofwealth, and ornaments for the use of their womenofferedaconvenientform for the gratification of thisidea. From the ornament being attached to thewoman,itacquiredasortoftaboocharacter,andinter-ference with it was considered as an insult to theowner of the female slave. There was the con-veniencealsoformakingthatgranddisplay of materialpropertysodeartoanOrientalmind,and the furtheradvantage ofaneasyremovalandnegotiationin caseofanurgentneed.Egyptiangoldringsaretobeseenin theUniversityMuseum atLeyden,andthe samecharacter of orna-mental currency may be noted even in Europeancountries.AnIcelandicwriter of the twelfth century,SnorroSturleson, speaks of a marriage dowry consisting of*threelargefarmsandagold collar.' Caesar tells usthat'theGaulsused formoneygoldandiron rings of618THE MONEY OF THE BIBLEcertain weight,' and a similar statement he makes inrelationto Britain.Casual mention has already been made of Irishring money. In bronze these rings havebeen foundcommencing in weight from exactly one half-pennyweight,and rising in regular proportion fromthatuptotwelveounces.The rings are sometimes interlaced in theform ofachain, or hooked togetherbyhooks attheend,andin some cases they possess flat cymbal-like ends,which were intended to be brought firmly together.It is therefore not difficult to imaginethemeaningofthe passages mentioned as having reference to theuseofring moneyamongsttheancient Israelites.From the very earliest times the precious metalswere used as representative of wealth. Abrahamcame up from Egypt'very rich in cattle, in silverand in gold' (Gen. xiii. i andxxiv.'^^,andthat thisbullionwas used incommerce there is an earlyproofin Gen. xvii.13,where money(^91kesepJi) is spokenofasthepriceofaslave. Thepurchaseby AbrahamoftheCaveofMachpelahfor fourhundredshekels ofsilver weighed out to Ephron 'current with themerchant' (LXX. hoKLfxov iixiropois), is a more im-portantexampleofthesamemethod.It is evident that pieces of metal of recognizedvalue were re-weighed out by the purchaser to theseller ofthe land, and in the presence of witnesses.Therearemany similarinstancesofthis useof moneyUNCOINEDMONEY OF THE OLDTESTAMENT [9by weight. Abimelech gave to Sarah a thousandpiecesofsilver(Gen.xx.16).ThePhilistines paid toDelilah eleven hundred pieces of silver(Judgesxvi.5, 18); Micah, to his mother, the same amount(Judgesxvii.2); the IshmaelitestoJoseph'sbrethren,twenty pieces (Gen. xxxvii.28),and the Syrian toGehazi(2Kingsv.23)moneybyweight.BythelawsofMoses,menandcattle(Lev.xxvii.3;Num. iii.47),the possession of houses and fields(Lev. xxvii.16),purchaseofprovisions (Deut. ii.6,28andxiv.26),andall fines foroffences(Exod.xxi. andxxii.)were regulated and determinedbythevalue ofsilver.ThecontributionstotheTabernacle(Exod.xxx.13andxxxviii.26),thesacrifices ofanimals(Lev.v.15),the redemption of the first-born (Num. iii.50andxviii.16),and the payment totheseer (i Sam. ix.8)weresimilarlyregulatedbyweightofsilver. Innoneoftheseinstances is anyreferenceintendedtomoneyin the form of coin, but to silver by weight. Thewordsshekelortalent in everycaserefer to aweight.It must, however, be noted that although there arereferences to a considerable bulk of silver, yet suchbulk consisted of separatepieces, whichalthoughnotissued by a constituted authority, yet must havepossessedseparateanddistinct recognizedvalue.Mr. Madden, who is above every one else in thiscountry the authority upon this branch of OrientalNumismatics, draws particular attention to theB220 THEMONEY OF THE BIBLE603,550halfshekelsaccumulatedbythecontributionof each Israelite for the tabernacle work (Exod.xxxviii.26).Eachindividualhalfshekelnamedinthispassagecould hardlyhavebeenseparatelyv^eighed.Then again^, in Exod.xxx.13we read of ahalfshekel as a contribution for theatonement,'therichshall not givemore,and thepoor shall notgive less,'and in i Sam. ix.7,8welearn that thefourth partofashekel,anindividualamount ofrecognizedvalue,was all the silver that the servant of Saul hadwithhim withwhich to paythe seer. Later onwe shallfind that theword shekel, which in every one of theforegoing passages is aweight,becomesthenameforanactualcoin.Exactly the same change as to the word AS inRoman usefrom weighttocointookplace, and an analo-gouscase is theusein Englishoftheword pound.Wehavetherefore in use at this period of time,asweight for silverthe shekel, which is estimated tohave weighed about9dwt.Troy,which at ^s. oz. insilver wouldgive an approximatevalue of about %s.3^.,thebekahor half the shekel (Exod.xxxviii.26),thethird part (Nehem.x.32),the rebah or fourth part(i Sam.ix.8),andthegerahortwentiethpart(Exod.xxx.13).It has been objected that no portion ofsilver ofdefinite weight, and therefore value, has ever beenfound in the explorations and excavationsthat havebeencarried on in the HolyLand; but the probableUNCOINED MONEYOF THE OLD TESTAMENT aireason of this fact,whichonthefaceof it is not easyto explain, is that fromtime to time the moneyusedwas remeltedbeforeafresh issueof it. Shaphanthescribe told King Josiah, in 1 Kings xxii.9and1Chron.xxxiv.17,'Thyservants havegathered'(orasintheVulgatemoreaccurately,conflaverunt,'melted')'themoneythatwasfoundin the house.' Thesameverb is used in Ezek. xxii. 20, where the passagespeaksofmeltingmetalin afurnace.Therearetwomorereferencestomoneyin theOldTestament which require notice, more especially astheoriginalmakes use in these two passages of twoseparate distinctive words occurringnowhere else inthe version.In I Sam. ii.36,the prophecyconcerning the ulti-matepovertyofEli^shouse, speaksofhisdescendantswho shall 'come and crouch for a piece of silver.'Here the phrase is Agorathkeseph(^D3 T\'p^).TheSeptuagint translates the word ojBoXds apyvpCov, anddoesthesame in the passageswhere thewordgerahoccurs in the A.V. (supra, Exod. xxx.13;Lev.xxvii.25;Num. iii.47,xviii. 16;Ezek. xlv.12),deriving both phrases from the verb agar (^l^), tocollect ; andthevalueof moneyprobablyintendedbytheexpression is theveryleast piece of silverknownin use,thegerahortwentiethpartoftheshekeleven,if not lessthat is, the coin thatwould be given toabeggar,as inthepresentdaymightbeexpressedbythewordsasot^ orafarthing.22 THE MONEYOF THE BIBLETheotherreference is in thePsalms, Ixviii.30,andthe word used is ratscekeseph(^D?""r^"^).whichappearsnowhere else in the Bible. The verb rdssdssevidently is responsible for the expression ratsee^and literallymeansto breakorcrush. Thesoundofthe word is supposed to represent the sound ofbreaking. The correct translation of the text isprobably'trampling under foot the pieces(or ingots,or lumps roughlybroken off) of silver/ andtheallu-sion is probablyto rough lumpsof metal having anapproximateknownvalue.There is but little mention of gold as a mediumof commerce in theOldTestament. As ornamentshaving a currency value we have already noticedgold in Exod. iii.22,jewels of gold borrowed fromthe Egyptians, and again in Exod. xii. '^^. Alsothe gifts to Rebekah in Gen. xxiv.22,and otherpassages of similar character. In Joshua vii. 21 wereadof amassof gold in a wedge or tongue-shapedblock stolen by Achan. Its weight is given at50shekels (yAwo-crai^ \kiav yj)V(jr\v). Naaman took withhimonhis visit totheKingof Israel 6,000shekelsofgold,and David paid to Oman the Jebusite for histhreshing-floor600shekelsof goldbyweight(i Chron.xxi.25).Naaman also gave out gold by weight(2KingsV.5).It is doubtful whether the passage in the FirstBookofChroniclesactuallyrelatestogold at all,as in2Sam.xxiv.24,wherethe sameeventis recorded,theUNCOINED MONEYOF THE OLD TESTAMENT 27phrase used is the more ordinary onefor50 shekelsof silver. There is a passage in Isaiah naminggold(Isa. xlvi.6),'They lavish gold out of the bag,andweighsilver in thebalance,'andanotherinJobxxviii.15,in very similar terms referring to wisdom,'Itcannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver beweighed for the price thereof.' Neither of thesepassagesrefer to coin, but both to gold in the lumpbyweight.It is neversafe in dealingwiththeexpressionsusedin theOldTestamentasregardslarge sumsofmoney,especiallyin gold,toendeavourto translatethemintoEnglish value. The Oriental mind had a habit ofextravaganceandalovefor theuseofhyperboleandmetaphor fromthe veryearliest times,and this mustbe taken into account. It is verydoubtful inmanycases whether anything like Western accuracy isintendedtobeusedin HolyWrit,butratherapproxi-mateandrelativeterms,andthenit mustbeborneinmindthatwearewithoutdefinitedataasto thevalueofthe preciousmetalsattheseremoteages.It isveryuncertain, for example,whattheworthofthe talent of gold reallywas. The income of KingSolomon, it has been pointed out, is stated to havebeen an annual one of 666 talents of gold. If theusualestimateis made of15talentsof silver being equaltoatalent ofgold,asfifteenshekelsofsilverweretoashekelof gold, we havea sum amounting to fourmillionsof moneyperannum,which it must be confessed is24THE MONEY OF THE BIBLEaveryunlikelysum. Theweight probablyvaried ineachmetal, andthenearestapproximateestimatethatcanbeformedputsthetalentofgoldat 131lbs.weight,and the talent of silver at117lbs., whichwould givean Englishvaluetothem of about;^6,ooo and;^400respectively, and would make the gold and silvershekels of the Old Testament worth respectivelyfortyshillings andthreeshillings.CHAPTER IICOINED MONEYOF THE OLD TESTAMENTThefirst mentionin the Bible ofwhat is actuallycoined money occurs in various passages in thewritings of Ezra and Nehemiah {darkemonim^ Ezraii. 68,69 ;adarkonim^ 'Ezra, viii. 26,27 ;darkemomm,Nehem. vii.70, 72; adarkomm, i Chron. xxix.7);and in the Authorized Version the Hebrew wordsadarkomm(Q^^i^nii^^LXX.xP'^aol x^^'^^oi),and darke-mo7izm(D^3iD3"]'n,LXX.ixvaC),are translated by theuse of the word dram.It is generally agreed that these words havereference to the Persian coin, the daric, a gold coinwhichprobablytook its namefromthe Persiandara,signifyingking,fromtheverbdashtan^imperativeddr^tohave, to hold, to possess(hencealso Darius). Thefigureon thesecoins wasof theKingofPersia, perse,andnotofanyparticularking.Wearenowdealingwithatime aboutfivehundredyears before Christ, and as coined moneywas first26 THE MONEY OF THE BIBLEstruck onlysome three to fourhundred years earlier,we naturally expect to find a coin in the daric ofrudestructureandsimpledevice.Theobversehasthefigureof akingkneeling,armedwithbowand javelin, and the reversehas the incusepunch-mark that distinguishes archaic coins, andwhichprecededanydeviceonthatside. Ourillustra-tion is ofadoubledaric.GOLD DARIC,The coin is of verypure gold,andweighs on theaverage130 grains, which in comparison with anEnglishsovereignof 113grainsofgoldoflowerpuritywouldgive its approximatevalueat 1 ^s.The veryword'sovereign,' applied byus both tomonarch and coin, is analogous to this word daric,derivingitsnamefromdara. Thesedarics werealsostruck in silver, and to the silver darics of Persiaallusion is probablymade in Nehem. v.15,'besidefortyshekelsofsilver.'Artaxerxes in B.C.458gave a special commissionto Ezra,whowasjust then leaving for Jerusalem,asto the gold and silver in the province(Ezravii.16-18),and the king concluded with these words, 'andCOINED MONEY OF THEOLD TESTAMENT 27whatsoever shall seem good to thee, and to thybrethren,to dowith the rest of the silver and gold,that do after the will of your God.' Upon thesewordstheeminentnumismatist,M.deSaulcy,foundedhistheorythatthe coinwhich is figured onpage28theshekelwithits correspondinghalf-shekel issuedinthe years i to 5was struck byEzra. The theorywas accepted byanother great writer onthesubject,Lenormant,and tentatively by Mr.Madden,who inlateryearschangedhisopinion. Thesecoins, weigh-ing in the shekel 220 grains, and in the half-shekelnograins, readas follows:Obv.W'\^' b^^ ShekelIsrael Shekelof Israel=acuporchalice,andaboveittheletters^^\year2.Rev.ncnipn D''7Kn"i^Jemshalaim ha-kedoshahJerusalemtheHoly; atriple lily.The question of the exact position in history oftheseshekels is oneofsome difficulty, andatpresentthere is no authoritative evidence that once for allwill decide it.Thisisnottheplacetoreviewtheevidencebroughtforwardto supporttherivaltheories. M.deSaulcy andM.Lenormant place them as issued in Ezra's time,Mr. Madden, M.Six, and Dr. Merzbacher attributethem to Simon Maccabaeus. Simon is said to havereigned in Judaea for eight years, but not to haveobtained the right of coinage until his fourth year,which right again was quickly taken from him.28 THEMONEY OF THE BIBLEThese shekels and half-shekels are ofthe years i to5,while there do exist copper coins of year4only^ofverydifferent characterfrom the silver, andwhichwere almost certainly struck by Simon. I havecarefully reviewed the evidence for and against, andas eachwriter is responsible for his own conclusionsonly, my attribution of these silver coins is tothe time of Ezra, and the copper ones of the year4toSimonMaccabaeus.Accordingly I place these coins as the earliestactual Jewish money.SHEKEL OF THE TIME OF EZRA.The device on the obverse is usually supposed tobethecuporpotofmanna laid up in the sanctuary.'AndMosessaid untoAaron,Takeapot,andputanomerfull of manna therein,and lay it up before theLord, to be kept for your generations' (Exod.xvi.2iZ)'The device on the reverse is either Aaron's rodthat'budded,and brought forth buds, and bloomedblossoms, and yielded almonds' (Num.xvii.8),andwhich, like thecupofmanna,was laid up before theCOINED MONEYOF THE OLD TESTAMENT 29Lord (Num. xvii.10),or else, as Cavedoni firstsuggested, it is a lily :*I will be as the dew untoIsrael ; heshallgrow(i.e.blossom)asthelily' (Hoseaxiv.5).The former attribution is theone, however,more usuallyacceptedbynumismatists, and I acceptit. It brings both devices into close and intimateconnexion,and is the morenatural explanation. Itwould be precioussymbolism to theJewsafter theirexile, reminding them of their history and its greatand past events, filling them with hope as to futureprosperity and the restoration of their Temple andits worship, and encouraging them in this theirinitial coinage to look forward with hope. It wasthe Temple and the Temple service forwhich theywere looking at the time, and every symbol thatreminded them of the Tabernacle, of historicalcontinuityof life andservice, andofthe earlierpagesoftheir history,would be likely to be used bytheirgreatleader in a timewhenso muchdependeduponunity ofpurpose,determination,andfaith.As alreadymentioned,there are shekels and half-shekels for five years, and every coin bears the cupand the rod, while the inscriptions, with very smalldifferences, areasgivenabovein theillustration.Jerusalem, it will be noted, is termed'the Holy,'a title given to the city from veryearly times, and,it is interesting to note, still retained in its presentArabic nameEl-Kuds, the holy. In Isa. xlviii. 2it is spokenofas'theholycity,' andagain Isa. lii. i;30THE MONEYOF THE BIBLEDan. ix.24;Joeliii.17;and, what is more to thepurpose, in Nehem. xi. i,18, where at this verytime we read *to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city.'Thetitle wasevidentlyafamiliaranda favourite one,in use at the very time at which I consider thesecoins were struck, and the coin but took up thepopular phrase for the city that was so intenselybeloved by its people.CHAPTER IIICOINEDMONEYOFTHETIMEOFTHEAPOCRYPHAThecompletionoftheBookof Malachiis usually,byBiblechronologists,putat420B.C., andtheperiodfrom this time down to the opening of the New-Testament is partially covered by the books of theApocrypha.In^^2B.C. the kingdomof Persiawas conqueredbytheNapoleon of his time, Alexander the Great;but theJews not only did notsuffer under his rule,but had much cause for regret when he died.Alexander's coinage was chieflyof gold staters andsilvertetradrachms,and these coins, especiallyofthelatter class, werestruck,according to the conqueror'scustom,in thevariouscountriesthathesubjugated,astypicalofthesubmissionofthenations.There are coins extant of Alexander struck inPalestine atJoppa,Acre, Sycamine in Csesarea,andScythopolisinSamaria,knownalsoas Beth-shan.I illustrate a fine tetradrachm ofAlexander. At3^THEMONEYOF THE BIBLEthedeathofAlexandertherewasconsiderabledisputeasto his possessions,andtheJews,whosecountrylayTETRADRACHM OF ALEXANDER.between Syriaand Egypt, had muchcause forcom-plaintduringtheinternecinestruggle.For a while their country was harassed bybothnations, and the coinage used in the land embracesthat issued by the Seleucidae (Syrians) and theTETRADRACHM OF SELEUCUSI NICATOR.Ptolemies (Egypt). Of the former series the coinI illustrate is a tetradrachm of Seleucus I Nicator^COINED MONEY OF THE APOCRYPHA?>?>B.C. 312-280, bearing on it the title of the King'Seleucus' ZEAEYKOY BAIIAEHI, by and underthefigure,andunderthe seatof the chair the lettersA I, initials ofthenameDiospolis, wherethecoinwasstruck, the town being familiarly termed Lydda,andnamed in Acts ix.32,o^^j38.These coins of theSeleucidae were also struck in Tyre, Sidon,Ascalonand other towns.The next illustration is of a later Syrian coinissued by the KingAntiochusVII, surnamed Side-tes, or the hunter, and Euergetes, B.C. 138-127. Itrepresents on the obverse the head of the king,andTETRADRACHM OF ANTIOCHUS EUERGETES.on the reverse the words BAZIAEHZ ANTIOXOYEYEPrETOY, '(Money) of the King AntiochusEuergetes.' This title, meaning benefactor, is ofpeculiar interest, because used byour Lord in Lukexxii.25,when He, speaking of those exercisingauthority, gives them the title of benefactors. Thedevice is MinervaholdingVictoria.It is needless in aworkof this kind to reviewtheC34THE MONEY OF THE BIBLEhistory of the invasionsof Judaea under the Kingsof SyriaandEgypt,and it is well to pass on to therevolution oftheJewsagainsttheirpersecutors,ledbya priest namedMattathias, whose son JudasMaccabaeusattained great notoriety,andfromwhosefamilycamethe Herodian dynasty.Thisfamily, in the personsbothofthe fatherhim-self andhistwosons,Judas,surnamedMaccabaeus,ortheHammerer(^2p'0'a hammer'),andJonathan^whosucceededhim, successfully led theJewsagainsttheirenemies, defeating them over and over again, andobtainingfromthemameasureofliberty.The second son, Simon^ who after the death ofJonathanformed atreatywithDemetrius II, KingofSyria, became high priest and leader of theJews,and to him was given the very important right ofcoiningmoney.Judaea under Simonenjoyed prosperityand peace.InB.C. 140DemetriuswascapturedbyMithridates I,KingofParthia,andtheusurper Tryphonhaving beenexpelled,AntiochusVIIascendedthethrone. Heatonce renewed the treaty with Simon^ andhe it was,whosecoin is depicted above,who granted the highpriest the rightof coinage.'I give thee leave also,'sayshe,' tocoinmoneyforthycountry,withthineownstamp : Kal e7reVpev//a aoi TTOtijcraL K6\x\xa Ihiov vofjAafjiarfjX(iipa(Tov (i Mace.xv.6).The coins issued in accordance with this decreewere in all probability those ofcopper issued in theCOINED MONEYOF THEAPOCRYPHA^Sfourthyear. TheshekelsofEzra,insilver^werestill inexistence,andthese coins ofSimonwere for the half,quarter,andsixthpartsofashekel. The decreeneitherstatesnorimplies that noearlier coins wereissued.The half shekel and the sixth of the shekel areillustrated, and putting the Hebrewinscriptions intoEnglishlettering, Igivetheinscriptionsonallthreeofthecoins.HALF SHEKEL (COPPER) OF SIMON MACCABEUS.Gov.Shenath arba Chatzi=In the fourth yearone-halfTwo bunches of thickly-leaved branches,betweenwhichis acitron.Rev.LigullathZion =TheredemptionofZion.Apalm-tree betweentwobasketsfilled withdatesandother fruits.Quartershekel(notillustrated)Odv.Shenath arba Rebia=In the fourth yearone-quarter.Twobundlesofbranches (lidab).Rev.LigullathZion =TheredemptionofZion.Acitron (ethrog).X2^6THE MONEY OF THE BIBLESIXTH OF SHEKEL (COPPER) OF SIMON MACCAB.iUS.Obv.Shenatharba = In thefourth year.Abundleofbranchesbetweentwocitrons.Rev.LigullathZion=:TheredemptionofZion.AcuporchaHce.Wehave already said that the right was given to Simoninthefourthyear,andveryspeedily removedfromhim.Thesecoins areknownofthefourthyear only.The palm-tree of Palestine is a symbol of greatinterest. Thepalmbranches are those alluded to inconnexion with the Feastof Tabernacles(Lev. xxiii.40),andthe basketswith the dates probablyrefer tothe first-fruits. The citron, or ethrog,wasbycustomof theJewscarriedwiththe palm branches, orliilab^on theFeast ofTabernacles;and,asMadden pointsout, the various emblems have reference also to theprosperity, peace, and productiveness of the countryunderSimon. Onecoinis known,countermarkedwithanelephant,theworkofthe Syrianking,buttheserieshavenot a feature in common with the older silvercoinage, save perhaps the cup, which in the coppercoin is verydifferent in shape, jewelled,and more ofa temple service vessel than the archaic formof theoldercoinage.COINED MONEY OF THE APOCRYPHA37Theseare clearlytheMaccabaean coins.Inasmuchas this is not a detailed history ofJewish coinage,it will be unnecessary to pass in review every coinstruck by successive high priests or rulers of theAsmonaean dynasty.Abriefpedigree is appended,however, in order toexplain the descentof the Herodian dynasty,and toguardagainstapossibleconfusionbetweenthe variousrulers having the common nameof Herod. Of theMaccabsean rulers there are coins known of thosewhose names are in italics^ i. e. Simon, as above,JohnHyrcanus,Judas Aristobulus, AlexanderJan-nseus, and his wife Alexandra, Alexander II, andAntigonus, andthenwecometotheHerodian rulers.Pedigree showing the Asmonaean Dynasty.B.C. 167.Mattathias.\II I IIJoannen. Simon. JudasMaccabreus. Eleazar. Jonathan.IJohnHyrcanus.II IJndasAristobulus /= Alexandra Alexander Jaii7iceus =pAlexatidra.(Salome). 1I .IHyrcanusII. AristobulusII.I I "IAlexandra =p AlexanderII. Antigonus.IMariamne =HerodI. Aristobulus.3THE MONEY OF THE BIBLEoo3toi-lo.COINED MONEY OF THE APOCRYPHA39Doubtless the little copper coins issued by thesepontifical rulers were of great value commercially,as theywerethe onlyhome coinage of theJewsforsmall values. They bear on one side the name ofthe ruler, and on the other a double cornucopia.JohnHyrcanus succeeded his father in B.C.l^Sashighpriest,butwasmoreapoliticianthana priest,andthestruggleat thistimeon the part ofthe rulerwasto assumeprincely ifnotkinglypower,and todoit without offending theprejudices of theJews,whohated the very idea of an independent sovereign.Withthis purposethese rulers associatedwiththeirtitle ofhigh priest theso-called senate orconfedera-tionoftheJews ;butlittlebylittle thepowerleft thesenate and vested in the ruler, whograduallyassimi-lated his position moreandmoretothatofaking.The devices, which on the earliest coins, as hasbeen shown,related to the unityof Jewish life withits past history, andthe sacred characterandholinessof its service and cityin the later coins to therevival of Templeworship,thefeastsand ritual oftheTemple,andthe generalprosperityof the landwhen'the earth gave her increase' (i Mace. xiv.8),nowwereofatotally different character.The cornucopia and the poppy-head, the Syriananchor and the star, are now found;and in laterHerodian days devices of awhollyprofane characterappear. The coin was becoming more and moreheathen, less and less of the sacred Jewishcharacter,40THE MONEY OF THE BIBLEandalthoughupto this timethe old sacred languagehadbeencontinued,yet a little while after it will befoundthateventhatwasgraduallydropped.Anewfamily of rulers nowenters the scene, andheathen worship and heathen custom,repudiated bythe earlier Maccabees, are adopted as part of theregular life and type of theJews.Thecoin ofJohnHyrcanus depicted maybethusdescribed : the long Hebrew inscription, which Igive in English characters, filling the obverseof thecoinCOIN OF JOHN HYRCANUS.Obv.Jehochanan Hakkohen Haggadol RoshCheher Hajelmdim =Johanan the HighPriest and Prince of the Senate of theJews.Withinawreathofolive.Rev.Twocornucopiae,betweenwhich is apoppy-head.Judas Aristobulus, his son, who succeeded him,issued butfewcoins, as heonlyreigned for oneyear.Hiscoin readsas followsOdv.Jehtidah CoJten Gadol Vecheber Hajehudini=Judas the High Priest and the Senateof theJews.Rev.Verysimilarto the last.COINED MONEY OF THE APOCRYPHA41The illustration shows two obverses very slightlydifferingonefromthe other.COIN OF JUDAS ARISTOBULUS.AlexanderJannaeus wasthenextruler(b.c.105-78),and he at once married Salome (or Alexandra inGreek), the wife ofhis deceased brother Judas. Inhis reign a great rebellion between Pharisees andSadducees took place, which was quelled only aftergreat slaughter, and the kingwaspelted withethrogs(citrons). Twocoinsstruck bythisrulerareillustrated,astheymarkanepochin Jewishcoinage.Thefirst is verysimilar to those alreadydepicted,and readsJonathan Hakkohen Haggadol VecheberHajehudim =Jonathan the High Priest and theSenate of the Jews.COIN OF ALEXANDER JANN^US.Theotherhastwo newfeatures. The hated nameof king is boldlyassumed,and on the reverse of thebilingual coins appears for the first time Greek42THE MONEY OF THE BIBLEcharacters. Thiscoinwas probablyone of thegreatcausesofthe revolt towhich I havejust alluded.COIN OF ALEXANDERJANN^US (WlTH TITLE OF KING).It is not necessary to review either the events ofthe reigns of the rulers who successively followedJannaeusor the coins issued bythem. Thetimewasone of insurrection and rebellion.JohnHyrcanusIIsat on the throne on three successive occasions. Inthe intervals his brothers or other relatives drovehim away and took his place, and then his partyasserting its supremacy he returned.Alexandra,thewife ofJannseus,reignedforawhile,andafterherdeathhersonJohnHyrcanussucceeded.Aristobulus II, Alexander II, and Antigonus alsoreigned, the latter being defeated in B.C.37byHerod I, the Idumaean, who had married the nieceofAntigonus; andwith his death inRomein B.C.37the Asmonaean dynasty ended, and the first of theevil brood of Herods reigned over Judaea.There were many coins issued of this period,butthere is little service inillustrating them,andattentionmust now be directed to the money of the NewTestament under the Herodian dynasty.CHAPTER IVNEWTESTAMENT MONEY. COINS OF THE HERODSDuring the reign of the last Asmonaean rulerJudgea came fully under the power of Rome, andAntigonus with his father and elder brother werecarried prisoners by Pompey to Rome. Antipaterthe Idumsean, under the Romans, had been actualruler for some time previous to this, and his two.sonsPhasaelandHerodweregoverning in JerusalemandGalilee. Bythehelp ofthe Parthians,Antigonus,escaping from Rome,regained his throne for a briefspace; but eventually Jerusalem was again besiegedand taken. Antigonus was then executed by theRomans at Antioch, and Herod I, surnamed theGreat,permitted as a feudatory vassal to ascend thethrone.Thenames of Herodandhis sonsanddescendantsare so familiar to students of Holy Scripture, thatalthough the coins they actually issued are notspecifically named in the NewTestament, yet soimportant are the issuers in its history, that it is44THE MONEY OF THE BIBLEdesirable some reference in detail should be madetotheir coins. The coins depictedshowfor the firsttime inscriptionswhollyin Greek,not Hebrew,char-acters,andthose oftheHerods are of copperonly.Herod I (surnamed the Great), B.C.37-4,was thebuilder of the beautiful Temple,and he it was whoordered the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem.Hiscrueltieswere atrocious,and despite the erectionoftheTemplehe failed to winthe least affectionfromthepeople overwhomhe ruled, and died in torment,universally hated.Thecoin illustrated is aremarkablepiece.COIN OF HEROD I (YEAR3= B.C.37).Ontheobverse is avesselwith abell-shaped coverandstand, above it a star,and on either sidewhatareprobablypalm branches.Thereverse readsBAZIAEHIHPnAOY,andbearsatripod, to the left ofwhicharetheletters LT signi-fyingthethirdyear,andtotherightthemonogram f.It is impossible to saywhat the curious device ontheobverseactually represents. Nooneofthemanywritersonthesubject have succeeded in determiningCOINS OF THE HERODS45thismootquestion. Cavedoniwith great probabilitysuggests that it is the censer carried by the highpriest once a yearon the solemnDayof Atonementinto the Holy of Holies, and that as Herod con-quered Jerusalem on the very Day of Atonement,thedevicewouldbeappropriate,especiallyas a markofindignitytoward theJews.The two palm branches may allude also to thisvictory, or, as Cavedoni again suggests, to the'twoolive trees' of Zechariah's vision (Zech. iv.3,12).The tripod shows Herod's paganizing spirit, andwas adapted from heathen coins. The year3,ifcounted from Herod's receipt of the title of Kingof Judaeafrom the Romans, would make the date716 (B.C. '^'j). Thereis a division of opinion againas to the monogram. Cavedoni calls it the Cruxansaia, employed both on Egyptian and Assyrianmonuments as the sign of life. De Saulcy, on thecontrary, says it is a mark of value, T and P, acontraction for TPtas (three), or rather TViyaXKov.Nothing now remains to refer to on the coin butthe star, and this is certainly a remarkable object.Cavedoni suggests that, like the censer, it also refersto the victoryover Jerusalem;but there is just thepossibility remaining that it has some connexioneither with the prophecy as to the arising of a starin the East, or to the expectation ofsome wonderfulastronomicalphenomenon,ormerelytoanassumptionbyHerod, in ridicule of the position of Him whose46THE MONEY OF TPIE BIBLEbirth was to be foreshadowed bythe appearance ofa star. It may be equivalent to the announcementby Herod of his rulership or messiahship of Israel,a profane sneer at Jewish expectations, or the pro-phecy which theJewsbelieved. It is certainlyinteresting to find a large single noticeablestar uponacoin ofHerod.HerodArchelaus,of whomJosephwasafraid,cameto the kingdom upon the death of his father. Hewas, however, only named ethnarch or ruler ofthe nation by Augustus, with the promise of thetitle of king thereafter, if hereigned virtuously. Heis the only prince of Judaeawho bore the title ofethnarch, which in 2 Cor. xi.32is a title given totheKingofDamascus:'Thegovernor underAretasthe ethnarch keptthe city.' Archelausreigned overJudaea, Idumaea and Samaria. His coin reads asfollows:COIN OF ARCHELAUS.Obv.HPHAOY,abunch ofgrapesanda leaf.ie^z;.E0NAPXOY,a helmet with tuft of feathersandcheek pieces.Next follows Herod Antipas (B.C. 4-A.D.39).This is Herod the tetrarch (Matt. xiv. 1-3;LukeCOINS OF THE HERODS47iii. I,19;ix.7),Herod the king (Matt. xiv.9),andKingHerod(Markvi.14).It was before this kingthatourBlessedLordwassent for examination whenPilateheard that Hewasa Galilean, as Herodwas tetrarch of Galilee. Pilatehad engaged in several disputes with the Galileans,andwasnotongoodtermswithHerod. Inconnexionwiththetransferof ourBlessed Lord to thejurisdic-tion of Herod, the long-standing quarrel betweentheprocuratorandthekingwasmade up,andHerodand Pilate again became friends (Luke xxiii.12).This is the monarch whose craftiness is alluded tobyourLordin the words,'Goye and tell that fox'(Lukexiii.32).Hemarried first thedaughterof the Arabian kingAretas,butwhenona visit to his half-brother Philip,he persuaded his brother's wife Herodias to consentto a secret union with him. The Arabian princess,justly incensed, returned to herfather. Herod,underthe influence of this new wife, whose union withhim was soon made public, beheaded St. JohnBaptist. Aretas, torevengethe insultto the honourofhis daughter,madewaragainstHerod,anddefeatedhimwithgreat loss, butwas compelled bythe powerofRome to desist from warring against the Romanvassal. Herod was the founder and builder of thecity of Tiberias, named in honour of his patron,the evil Emperor Tiberius. After the death of thatemperor, Herod journeyed to Rome to obtain the4