(10) Half a Shekel. See Bekah, above.
(11) Mite (Gr. Xerr6v, , Mark xii:42; Luke xii :59; xxi :2), a coin current in Palestine in the time of our Lord. It seems in IPalestine to have been the smallest piece of money. The mite (Mark xii :42) was half of the above-mentioned farthing, or about two mills of our currency.
(12) Penny (Gr. Omniptop, day-nar'ee-on, Matt. xviii :28: XX :2, 9, 13; xxii :19; Mark vi :37 ; xii : 15; xiv :5 ; Luke vii :41 ; x :35 ; xx :24 ; John vi :7; xii :5; Rev. vi :6). This was a Roman silver coin equal to an Attic drachma, or about sixteen American cents. "Shilling" would be a more cor rect translation.
(13) Piece of Money. This expression repre sents two kinds of money in the Old Testament: (a) Kesilah (Heb. rir;‘12, kes-ee-taw', weighed, Gen. xxxiii :18, 19). "The kesitah was a weighed piece of metal, and to judge from Gen. xxiii :16, Job xlii :11, of considerably higher value than the shekel; not an unstamped piece of silver of the value of a lamb, as supposed by the old interpret ers (Keil, Arch. ii, 24). (b) The stater or piece of money (Matt. xvii :27), a Greek or Roman sil ver coin (a shekel in weight), in value over fifty cents. The stater, or coined shekel, of the Jews is often found in the cabinets of antiquaries at the present day.
(14) Piece of Silver (Heb. 72, rats), perhaps pieces of uncoined silver are meant (Ps. lxviii :3o). Two words in the New Testament are translated by "piece of silver." In Luke (xv :8, 9) "pieces" is the rendering of the Gr. apax,(0), drakh-may' (sec Drain, above) ; "pieces" is the translation of Gr. cip-Anov, ar-goo'rc'-on (Matt. xxvi :15 ; xxvii : 3, 5, 6, 9), in the account of the betrayal of Christ for "thirty pieces of silver." These are often taken to be dcnarii, but on insufficient ground.
(1 5) Pound (Gr. mnah, Luke xix :13-25), a value mentioned in the parable of the Ten Pounds, as is the talent in Matt. xxv:t4-3o.
Probably a Greek pound is intended, a weight used as a money of account, of which sixty went to the talent, the weight depending upon the weight of the talent. Its value was about sixteen dollars and fifty cents to seventeen dollars and sixty cents.
(16) Shekel (Heb. sheh' kel, weight).
The shekel was properly a certain weight, and the shekel weight of silver was the unit of value through the whole age of Hebrew history down to the Babylonian captivity. Smith, O. T. Hist., p. 695, gives the value of the gold shekel as one pound two shillings, about five dollars and fifty cents; the silver as three shillings, about seventy five cents. Of copper, we have parts of the cop per shekei—the half, the quarter, the sixth. The entire shekel has not hcen found.
(17) Silverling (Heb. keh'sef), i.e. silver, as elsewhere rendered, a word used only once in the A. V. (Is. vii :23). for a piece of silver. (See Piece of Silver, above.) (18) Stater. See Piece of Money (b), above.
(19) Talent (Heb. kik-kawr', a circle; Gr. rdXavrov, tal'an-ton, a balance), was the larg est weight among the Hebrews, being used for metals, whether gold, silver, etc. According to Smith (O. T. Hist. p. 395), a talent of gold was worth in English money, iii,000, or about $55,000; of silver, 1450, or $2,250. In the New Testament this word is used (o) in the parahle of the un merciful servant (Matt. xviii :23-25) ; (b) in the parable of the talents (Matt. xxv :14-3o). At this time the Attic talent circulated in Palestine; 6o mina. and 6.000 were equivalent to a talent. It was consequently worth about L200, or $1,000.
(20) Third Part of a Shekel (Num. x:32), about tcnpence halfpenny English, or twenty-one cents.
(21) Tribute Money. Sec TRIBUTE.
(Sec TABLES OF MONEY, page 43. Appendix.)