MONEY CHANGER (rniin' chan'jEr), Gr. Ko7augurr4s, kol-loo-bis-tace', dealer in coin; KEN/Ar t.7TO, ker-mat-is-tace', money broker, from Kepica, 1‘•er'inali, a small coin.
It is mentioned by Volney that in Syria, Egypt and Turkey, when any considerable payments are to be made, an agent of exchange is sent for, who counts paras hy thousands, rejects pieces of false money, and weigh all the sequins cither sepa rately or together. It has hence been suggested that the `current money with the merchant,' men tioned in Scripture (Gen. xxiii:16), might have been such as was approved of by competent judges whose business it was to detect fraudulent money if offered in payment. The Hebrew word soelzer signifies one who goes about from place to place, and is supposed to answer to the native exchange-agent or money-broker of the East. now called shroff. It appears that there were hankers or money-changers in Judrea. who made a 'trade of receiving money in deposit and paying interest for it (Matt. xxv:27). Some of them had even established themselves within the precincts of the temple at Jerusalem (xxi:12), where they were in the practice of exchanging onc spccics of money for another. Persons who came from a distance
to worship at Jerusalem would naturally bring with them the money current in their respective districts, and it might therefore be a matter of convenience for them to get this money exchanged at the door of thc temple for that which was cur rent in Jerusalem, and upon their departure to receive again that species of money which circu lated in the districts to v,hich they were journey ing. These money-changers would, of course, charge a commission upon all their transactions but from the observation of our Savior, whcn he overthrew thc tables of those in the teinple, it may be inferred that they were not distinguished for honesty and fair dealing: 'It is written, my house shall be called the house of prayer, but, ye have made it a den of thieves' (verse 13). G. 1\1. B.